


Darcy Hale

by MentalMassDebation



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female Derek Hale, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mates, Mating, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Pack Meetings, Pack Politics, Protective Pack, Sexual Content, The Hale Pack - Freeform, True Mates, Violence, Werewolf Sheriff Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 17:19:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1613102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentalMassDebation/pseuds/MentalMassDebation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I should go." Darcy mumbled, trying to ignore the disappointed look flash through his gaze. She quickly reached for the passenger's door, a little too quickly. She had forgotten that stupid wound still oozing blood from her right side and winced slightly before recoiling into herself with a soft groan.</p><p>"Whoa, hey -- what's wrong?" Stiles' eyes widened slightly, a panic settling across his face. He moved closer, only stopping halfway when he realised what he was doing, his hands paused in mid-air and an unsure look on his face now. "Darcy?"</p><p>"I'm fine." Darcy muttered, holding a firm hand over the small, but deep wound on the curve of her waist.</p><p>"Yeah, see, I don't need werewolf hearing to know you're lying right now." Stiles shot her a hard, determined look. "Lemme..." He gulped silently, just praying she wouldn't punch him in the face. "Lemme see."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just another little experiment. ;)
> 
> Lemme know what you think?
> 
> And again; thank you for reading! (:

Tonight was supposed to be their night off. They were supposed to go out, drink as hard as they often fought for their own lives and just be normal. Whatever the hell 'normal' meant for them, anyway. Not a lot, it seemed, because there was already trouble before their evening had even begun. It had been an ambush, right outside of Scott and Allison's apartment building, where the group had decided to all meet up before heading out to party the night away.

"What the fuck, Allison!?" Stiles roared, his voice hoarse with anger, but his eyes widened on alarm as he slammed the front door behind him.

"Yeah -- friends of yours?" Aiden sneered, shooting the young huntress a pointed glare. He leaned his head back against the wall, panting heavily to gain his rightful breath back.

"No!" Allison barked, glaring right back at the two males. "If you didn't notice back there; they were trying to kill ME, too!"

"Well, they WERE hunters." Cora ground out. "And they knew exactly where to find us --"

"-- Which means that one of us is a traitor." Darcy growled, cutting her little sister off. "YOU." Her eyes narrowed in on the newest member of their pack.

The young Beta's eyes widened, his face stricken with panic. "I - I didn't mean to! They cornered me! Threatened to kill me if I didn't help them!"

"What!?" Scott roared, the entire pack all now glaring at the youngest wolf.

"Okay, just kill him now! Please, Darcy!" Erica pitched in.

"Are you kidding!?" Stiles barked, shooting him an incredulous look.

"After everything we've done for you!" Cora snarled along with Isaac, who ground out the words: "You ungrateful, little shit."

Darcy didn't know how the fuck she was still in control of her anger as she quickly stalked right up to the young Beta; the young traitor. She ignored the loud squeak he made when she grabbed him roughly by the throat and shoved him against the nearest wall, pinning him there with her iron-like grip. "You are not a part of our pack any longer." She ground out, her voice incredibly low and firm as her eyes burned a bright and angry red. "You are no longer one of my Betas, no longer my son, no longer their brother, no longer under my protection. You are a nothing!" She roared out that last part at the top of her lungs, her deep, Alpha tone making the walls of the small apartment tremble.

"D-Darcy," Billy quivered in her grip, his own eyes forced to burn yellow from the Alpha's voice. "P-please, I - I'm sorry --"

"Your sorry?" Darcy arched a brow, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Did you hear that?" She turned her head to shot her pack an amused, little grin. "He's sorry."

Lydia was the first one to respond, scoffing loudly. "Yeah. He's sorry NOW." She stated bitterly.

"Yeah." Boyd snorted. "Sorry he got found out." He snipped, causing the twins to snigger.

"Sorry that Darcy's gonna kick his furry, little ass for it." Stiles added with a small smirk. Okay, so sue him if he thought Darcy Hale was sexy as fuck when she was all riled up and pissed off. Especially when her anger wasn't directed at him. Which, okay, was kind of a rarity. But still. A guy could dream -- couldn't he?

Darcy snorted lightly at his quip. "No. If I kill you," She turned her red gaze back to the whimpering Beta; well, Omega, as of ten seconds ago. "That's just like letting you off the hook; it's too easy." Her lips slowly widened into a cruel smirk. "No, I think life as an Omega is punishment enough."

"No, please!" Billy's eyes widened in both fear and panic. "Please, Darcy! Don't send me back out there! I've got nothing!"

Darcy growled loudly, warning him to shut up, which he did, out of terror.

"Yeah, well, you shoulda thought about that before nearly getting us all killed." Stiles chirped, sarcasm dripping from his tone as he shot the werewolf a glare.

"I'm sorry! Please, Darcy! I'll do anything!" Billy wailed, his tears flowing freely now.

"Come now, Darcy --"

"Shut up, Peter." Darcy snarled, her angry orbs snapping over to him. "You think I've forgiven you?" She scoffed loudly at that. "I'll NEVER forgive you. For ANYTHING. I just can't seemed to get rid of you, that's the ONLY reason you're still here." She stated with a dismissive huff before glaring back up at the Beta in her clawed clutches.

Peter merely rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut. For now, anyway.

"We abdure you, Billy." Darcy growled, then proceeding to drag him through the apartment by his throat. "You no longer hunt with us, no longer share anything with us, because we are no longer your pack!" She snarled before practically ripping the front door open and literally throwing the younger werewolf out into the lonely hallway. She slammed the door loudly just as he slammed harshly into the opposite wall and then took a moment to calm herself down.

"Darcy, please!" Billy cried out from the other side of the door.

Darcy snarled out in irritation. "You've got exactly 30 seconds to get the fuck out of my earshot before I change my mind and rip your fucking throat out." She ground out.

And oh, God. There was absolutely no way Stiles felt his dick twitch slightly. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Besides all the other obvious things, of course. God, he had it bad. And the thing was, he didn't even know why. Darcy had never shown that kind of interest in him. In fact, she'd always treated him like she treated Scott; like an idiot puppy that couldn't fend for itself. And that was on top of all the constantly smacking him around, threatening him and glaring spectacularly at him. Seriously, the woman could glare for the entire Nation alone. And still, he found it so fucking hott. 'Ugh. Why!? What the hell's wrong with me?'

...Later that night, of course, the gang had decided to go for a rain cheque on the whole night out thing. Instead, they each drifted from Scott and Allison's apartment -- Lydia and Aiden dropping Ethan to his and Danny's apartment, Cora and Isaac finding their own way home a few blocks over along with Erica and Boyd, who literally lived down the hallway from the other couple. Even Peter had his own little place, though, tonight he decided to go out on his own instead and see how drunk he could get, if he could at all, because Lord knows, he had tried.

And then there was Stiles, who was stuck with giving Darcy a ride home to her horrid, lonely loft in his Jeep -- which was still going strong. "So, you think Billy will try coming back?" And of course, it was just anything to fill the silence. He hated silence. Especially awkward silences. He slowly pulled up outside of the building, killing the engine before turning his gaze to her. Fuck, she looked so beautiful with the moonlight shining through the windscreen and down across her flawless skin. 'Ugh.'

"Probably." Darcy shrugged, not looking all that bothered. "But it doesn't change anything. He almost got us killed." Her expression hardened as she shot the young man a pointed look.

Stiles nodded. "Yeah, no, I, uh, I totally agree."

Darcy arched a brow, looking slightly surprised. "Huh. I thought you were all for forgiving and second chances." She rolled her eyes.

Stiles frowned slightly. "Well, yeah, but not when my friends lives are put at risk." He shot her a pointed look, like she should have known that. Which, he thought she should have. He was always putting his own life at risk to save his friends, Darcy included.

Darcy nodded. "I know." To which Stiles arched a brow, it being his turn to look surprised. She smiled slightly in amusement at his ever quirky and rather animated features. But she had to admit; he really did have the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen, especially on a human. So big, so round, doll-like, glassy and filled with a clear whiskey colour -- beautiful. "You're a good friend, Stiles. Scott and the others are lucky to have someone like you."

And okay, wow, was that actually a compliment coming out of Darcy Hale's mouth and directed at Stiles? Really? Again, wow. And Stiles new how easily she could read others; especially him since he didn't make it that hard really. But then, her words registered through his brain again and he frowned slightly. Scott? And the others? What about Darcy? "Look, I, uh, I know we're not the best of friends and that I annoy the hell out of you, but I'm here for you, too, y'know. I mean, you ARE our Alpha." And now his heart was racing a million miles a second and he was sure she could hear it, even if she didn't show it.

Darcy simply stared at him for a few moments, clearly reading him as he blushed mercilessly under her intense gaze. She then nodded ever so slightly, her lips twitching ever so slightly, too. "Thanks."

It was quick, Stiles almost hadn't heard, but he thankfully had. His brow quirked, surprise flitting across his face for a moment before his lips pulled up into a small, but slightly amused smile.

"I should go." Darcy mumbled, trying to ignore the disappointed look flash through his gaze. She quickly reached for the passenger's door, a little too quickly. She had forgotten that stupid wound still oozing blood from her right side and winced slightly before recoiling into herself with a soft groan.

"Whoa, hey -- what's wrong?" Stiles' eyes widened slightly, a panic settling across his face. He moved closer, only stopping halfway when he realised what he was doing, his hands paused in mid-air and an unsure look on his face now. "Darcy?"

"I'm fine." Darcy muttered, holding a firm hand over the small, but deep wound on the curve of her waist.

"Yeah, see, I don't need werewolf hearing to know you're lying right now." Stiles shot her a hard, determined look. "Lemme..." He gulped silently, just praying she wouldn't punch him in the face. "Lemme see."

Darcy sighed quietly before turning in her seat and lifting her shirt up just under her ribcage. "It's nothing." She mumbled, her eyes averted to the windscreen window.

Stiles frowned slightly. "Why aren't you healing?" He asked, quickly glancing away from the small, bloody hole. Why the hell did he even ask to see it!? Ugh! Now he was trying not to throw up on the poor she wolf.

Darcy quickly pulled her shirt back down. "I'm tired." She shrugged lazily for emphasis. "I need sleep for energy to heal."

Stiles felt somewhat relieved by that. At least she wasn't fricking dying. Again. "Oh."

Darcy smiled slightly. "You thought I was dying, huh?" She asked, her tone lightly teasing.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time." Stiles countered.

Darcy's smiled widened slightly. "True." She sighed tiredly before this time slowly reaching for the door. "Thanks for the ride."

Stiles nodded, trying not to show his disappointment this time. Well, TOO much, anyway. "Yeah, no problem." And why the hell was he blushing NOW!? Ugh!

Darcy slowly slid out of the Jeep pausing to shoot him a small smile before closing the door. "Night, Stiles." She mumbled before slowly walking up to her apartment building.

"Yeah..." Stiles mumbled to himself, his soft gaze following her. "Night, Darcy..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, Scott rolled his eyes, though, his smile widened. "So? Ask her out." He said with a casual shrug.
> 
> Stiles' eyes widened fully. "Are you for real right now? Are you actually hearing yourself?" He asked, his tone dull and filled with sarcasm. "Then she really WOULD punch me."

Stiles smiled triumphantly to himself as he felt his control level out, causing the pencil in front of him to float in front of him. "Yes, Scott! Are you fricking seeing this!?" He squealed excitedly, while still trying to keep his focus and keep the pencil floating in mid-air.

Scott swirled around in his best friend's desk chair and chuckled when he saw what all the fuss was about. "I'm seeing it." He nodded with a grin. "It's awesome."

"Damn right, it's awesome! I'M awesome!" Stiles chimed with a similar grin. "So... What'd you think it means, dude?" He asked, looking helplessly at the werewolf. "Come on, dude, help me out here."

Scott rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smirking in amusement. Stiles' crush on Darcy Hale wasn't exactly ever a secret. Although, Stiles seemed to think it was for some reason. "Oh, I dunno. It sounds like she just said 'Night, Stiles'." He stated with a pointed look. He just didn't want his friend getting his hopes up. Although, he knew that the older werewolf had a soft spot for Stiles, even if he annoyed the hell out of her sometimes. But he wasn't going to say anything. He actually liked his limbs attached to his body, which wouldn't go on for any longer if he simply told Stiles.

Stiles glared at his so-called best friend. "Dude, be serious."

"I am." Scott sighed. "Stiles, come on, YOU of all people know what Darcy's like. She so miserable, like, all the time. Seriously, I don't think she knows how to smile. Like, actually smile."

Stiles frowned at that. "NOT cool, dude, come on. You know what she's been through. I mean, I know you and the others werewolves are in the same boat, but Darcy and her family have been running from hunters and dealing with crazy supernatural shit their entire lives."

Scott smiled slightly, shaking his head at his friend defending the she wolf. As always. "Yeah, okay." He nodded. "That's true. But still. It wouldn't hurt her to crack a smile every now and then."

"Well, that's what I'm saying here, dude -- she smiled at me last night. That's what I'm saying, man. It was like a real smile, too. And when I asked her to show me her side, she actually showed me... Seriously, I thought she was gonna punch me... Again. But, nope. I think that's the most civil she's ever been towards me." Stiles bit his bottom lip thoughtfully.

Again, Scott rolled his eyes, though, his smile widened. "So? Ask her out." He said with a casual shrug.

Stiles' eyes widened fully. "Are you for real right now? Are you actually hearing yourself?" He asked, his tone dull and filled with sarcasm. "Then she really WOULD punch me."

Scott huffed. "Well, then, just sit here and pine over her, like you've been doing for the last 9 years." He chuckled as the older man shot him a brief glare.

Stiles almost whined. "It's just... God, she's like -- and okay, don't ever tell Lydia I said this, but seriously -- she's fucking gorgeous, like the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my entire life." He sighed loudly, his gaze drifting into space.

"Don't you think that's a LITTLE dramatic?" Scott teased, because yeah, he knew. It was obvious. Probably even to Darcy herself, though, she never brought it up.

Stiles glared at his so-called soul brother. "Oh, come on! You KNOW she's hott!"

Scott rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Yeah, she's hott. No doubt." He agreed. "But Allison's the only one for me." He smiled brightly at the mere mention of his true mate.

Stiles rolled his eyes back. "Well, yeah. I think the entire planet knows that by now."

Scott chuckled, reaching for a screwed up piece of paper and chucking it, hitting his friend perfectly in the forehead.

"Bent." Stiles muttered bitterly, tossing the paper aside.

Scott laughed. "How was THAT bent?" He shook his head. "Such a sore loser."

"Suck my dick." Stiles grumbled.

"Really? You really want ME to suck your dick?" Scott taunted. "You sure there is no one ELSE you'd rather have sucking your di --"

"SHUT UP!" Stiles snapped, causing the floating pencil to spear angrily towards the werewolf.

Scott's eyes widened, his hand already wrapped around the pencil, which had been two inches from taking his eye out. "Stiles," He glanced over at his friend. "Dude, WHAT the FUCK was THAT!?" He barked, tossing the motionless pencil to the floor.

Stiles' eyes were also widened fully, though, he looked even more shocked than the werewolf. "Holy f --" He gulped tightly. "S-sorry, dude. Fuck!"

Scott eyed him carefully before taking a deep breath. "It's fine. It's MY fault."

Stiles' eyes widened even more then, if that was even possible. "What!?" He snapped. "Dude, I almost just took your fucking eye out!" He squealed. "I REALLY don't have as much control as I thought I did."

"Hey, it's fine, you idiot." Scott rolled his eyes dismissively. "Deaton's back in town next week, so we can go see him, see if he can help you with it."

Stiles nodded at that, slowly, but surely managing to calm himself down. "Okay, yeah. I like that plan. Good. Deaton always knows what's going on. He's like a supernatural fountain of knowledge."

Scott chuckled at that before slowly rising from his seat. "I'm gonna go, man. It's passed fricking midnight already."

"Oh?" Stiles smirked. "Does the misses want you home for some early loving?"

Scott snorted. "Shut up, jackass..."

...After escorting his best friend out of his apartment, Stiles made his way back into his bedroom. And only when he flicked the light back on did he spot the familiar figure standing just inside his window. "Holy fuck!" He gasped and jumped in surprise, a hand flying over his racing heart. He squinted then, noticing her swaying slightly, his ever curious gaze drifting down to the arm she had wrapped loosely around her own waist. "Darcy?"

Her skin was sickly pale, her long black waves of hair loose around her shoulders and soaked through as was the rest of her. Her clothes -- the white tank top splattered lightly in blood which Stiles believed to be whoever she'd been fighting with. And really, he really did try to ignore the fact that he could see her black bra through the soaked, white material. Her usual black, leather jacket was missing, her dark blue jeans ripped slightly and her feet bare, muddy and also, soaked.

"Holy fuck..." Stiles repeated the words through a whisper. He edged closer, a hand held out, but for what, he didn't know. He didn't know whether to come closer still or just take a step back and let her breath. But then, he didn't have to wait -- not when she stumbled slightly before sinking slowly to her knees. Then Stiles was already kneeling beside her. And even if he was hesitant to touch her (in case she punched him in the face or ripped his throat out, with her teeth) Stiles reached out for her. With an arm slid around the back of narrow shoulders, he used his free hand to help her sit up.

"Stiles," Darcy breathed, barely able to get the name out. And with what little strength she had left, she managed to push herself forward. She pressed her body close to his, her arms coming up slowly to wrap loosely around his mid-section.

"Hey, it's okay, I got you." Stiles mumbled and how the hell was he able to focus, let alone say words when she was this fricking close? When she had her face practically buried in the crook of his neck now. He gulped silently, his arms automatically closing around her shoulders and holding her even closer. But then, there was still one thing on his mind, something that overrode the tender moment between them: "What happened? Who did this to you?" And then he had to stop himself from asking so many questions. At least, right now he did, because he could actually feeling her fucking shaking and it freaked him the fuck out. "Darcy," And he tried again to gain her attention, at least some of it, but that was hardly fair, seeing as how he could barely manage to pay attention himself with her nose still poking along his neck, breathing him in. But nonetheless, it seemed to work this time.

Darcy sighed, her breath hot against his skin and really, she couldn't help smiling slightly to herself as she watched his flesh erupt into goosepimples. "Stiles... I... I don't wanna talk about it... Right now, anyway."

And Stiles sighed at that, but he sounded defeated and somewhat frustrated by her response. Always shutting him out. Always shutting everyone out. But he couldn't refuse, couldn't put up a fight, and especially not after hearing the slightly quiver in her voice. No, not right now, at least. "But... Later... You'll talk about it later. Right?" Reluctantly, he pulled his head back, though, just enough to see her face. Because damn, her face was pretty much the best thing he'd ever seen.

Darcy's greeny-blue orbs slowly lifted to meet his whiskey does, her gaze flickering down to his lips. She looked away instantly, hoping that he hadn't seen. And if he had, she really couldn't tell right now. She nodded slowly then, and without looking up as realising she still hadn't responded.

Stiles sighed quietly, but nodded. "Okay, fine. Later. Later is fine. Good, in fact."

"Stiles," Darcy finally glanced back up at him, their eyes meeting once again and for a brief moment, she almost got lost in the warmth his gaze held when he looked at her. And it would have been easy just to lean forward then, just lean forward and finally see what she had been missing as she got her first taste of him. But no. And she didn't know whether it was her trying to be a total control freak (that she totally always had been) or whether she was just telling herself it was for the human's sake. But was it even?

Stiles stared back at her, lost himself in her own gaze. "Stop talking?" And wow, how did he even managed to say that, say anything, do anything right now. Especially when his sweaty palms were still pressed against the back of her warm and damp shoulders.

Darcy smiled a barely there smile, but it was enough to make the man smile back at her, just another thing she found beautiful about him. "Yeah." She mumbled before leaning forward and burying her nose back into the crook of his neck, her arms tightening around his waist. "Just shut up and hold me for a while." She whispered, her eyes then slowly closing as she let out a deep sigh.

"But..." And Stiles couldn't help it, okay? It wasn't his fault. This was all very new to him. Sure, he'd slept with girls (and a few guys) before now, but Darcy was always out of his fricking league. "Why?" And of course, he'd be an idiot if he didn't oblige anyway, which is what he did as he pulled her a little closer, his cheek brushing the top of her head now.

Darcy smiled slightly to herself, inhaling his scent deeply before replying. "I'm an Alpha," She chuckled lightly and Stiles thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard and it felt pretty beautiful, too, as the small sound lightly vibrated against his skin. "I can heal my Betas, but I can't exactly ask my them to help me in return."

"But I can?" Stiles arched a curious brow to himself as he dared his hands to slide carefully down to rest in the middle of her spine instead. And of course, he had to bite back a small moan lodged in his throat when her entire form shivered against his.

Darcy nodded, her forehead rubbing lightly over the top of his right shoulder. "You're my emissary; my healer." She breathed, gritting her teeth then as she fought the urge to just tilt her mouth forward just that little bit more. 'Just. One. Bite... Fuck, no... Stop...' And now she knew her eyes were fricking burning, which really didn't do her any favours right now. And okay, so Stiles little crush on her was pretty obvious, but it was just a stupid crush. He'd get over it eventually. 'But I won't...' And then, miserably, her eyes quickly returning to normal at that dampening thought.

And wow, okay. So MAYBE Stiles was a little stung by that. "Oh. Right. No, I get it. Pack healing and whatnot. I totally get it. Really." And he couldn't help sounding it, either. Again, NOT his fault.

Darcy frowned deeply, practically smelling the hurt rolling from him. And it was an automatic response that she couldn't help reach forward, finally tilt her mouth and take a small, but affection nip of reassurance to him. To which, okay, predictably, the human gasped and shivered lightly, placing a small smile back to her lips in return. "I didn't mean it like that." She mumbled.

"Then..." And yeah, Stiles was still curious, even if he was rather distracted right now. "What did you mean, exactly?" He asked, his voice barely audible. Though, he knew she could hear him clearly enough.

Darcy huffed out another small laugh before dipping her gaze and resting her forehead gently against his shoulder. "You ask too many questions." She mumbled out.

"Uh, yeah, well, you're not exactly the sharing type." Stiles stumbled over his words and still somehow managed to pull through it.

Darcy smiled to herself. "We can talk later." She leaned closer. "I just... I wanna rest my eyes for sec'. While I'm still safe." She mumbled tiredly, leaning her full weight against him now as she let out a content sigh.

And Stiles really couldn't help smiling to himself. "Safe". 'Huh...' He simply pulled her closer, his cheek resting against the top of her head and his eyes slowly closing. "It's fine. I got you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "SO glad to know WE'RE not one of those sad people obsessed with demons." Isaac mumbled under his breath, smiling sheepishly when Darcy glared at him. "It was a joke, God." He muttered, rolling his eyes with a little huff.
> 
> Stiles somehow held onto a glare that was brewing for the curly-haired Beta and opened his mouth to speak instead. Speaking being something he was always really good at. "Hey, come on, man, I mean, we have to be a LITTLE bit obsessed, at least. I mean, we ARE detectives that specialize in these kinda things. And okay, yeah, it's not a real job... To the normal people, anyway... But we still get money for saving people's lives. I mean, I don't know why the hell we didn't think of it sooner."

"I can understand people who drink too much." Erica stated as she traipsed into Scott and Allison's apartment with the rest of the group. "I can understand people who put a little note on the parking meter saying that the machine's broken. I can pretty much understand most of the weird and sad things that people do. But I CAN'T understand people who worship demons." She shook her head in dismay as she plopped down onto Boyd's lap -- who had already taken up the red loveseat in the corner of the living room.

"Yeah." Cora snorted in amusement as she took up the couch in between Isaac and Ethan. "Especially Lu-Rite demons."

"Ugh. The sting on those fuckers hurt like a bitch." Scott huffed out, rubbing his wounded shoulder as he trudged down the hallway and into his bedroom. Allison followed slowly after him, her cross-bow hanging loosely from her right hand.

"AND," Stiles pitched in. "Just because he was prince of the dark underworld or whatever, doesn't mean he couldn't take a fricking bath every once in while." His nose wrinkling slightly as he recalled the vile smell of the demon.

"It's sad, really." Lydia stated as she cuddled up to Aiden on the opposite couch. "The way some people can find a purpose in life, I mean." She elaborated when some of the others arched a brow at her. "By becoming obsessed with icky demons."

"Oh, by the way, Cora," Darcy finally spoke up from her spot perched at the end of the couch her little sister was sat on. "Technically, that wasn't a Lu-Rite demon. It was a Mu-Rite -- a sub-species of the Lu-Rite. The male has a small, tell-tale fin, just behind the third shoulder. Did you EVER pay attention to mom's lectures?" She arched an expectant brow, her smirk small, but clearly smug.

Cora scoffed loudly. "Screw you. They're practically the same fricking fugly-ass creatures. Don't be so extra all the time." She whined with a roll of her eyes, causing her big sister's smirk to widen slightly.

"SO glad to know WE'RE not one of those sad people obsessed with demons." Isaac mumbled under his breath, smiling sheepishly when Darcy glared at him. "It was a joke, God." He muttered, rolling his eyes with a little huff.

Stiles somehow held onto a glare that was brewing for the curly-haired Beta and opened his mouth to speak instead. Speaking being something he was always really good at. "Hey, come on, man, I mean, we have to be a LITTLE bit obsessed, at least. I mean, we ARE detectives that specialize in these kinda things. And okay, yeah, it's not a real job... To the normal people, anyway... But we still get money for saving people's lives. I mean, I don't know why the hell we didn't think of it sooner."

Darcy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling slightly to herself. 'Huh. Thinks he's my knight in shining armour now, does he? Always defending me. And God help me, I actually think that's kinda cute... Ugh.'

"Oh, please," Allison piped up, returning with Scott behind her, each having changed into a clean set of clothes. "We take money from helpless people, more like."

Stiles scoffed and was about to answer, but the redhead came to his aid this time.

"So?" Lydia arched a brow. "How is that any different from what real detectives do?"

"Yes. Exactly." Stiles nodded, shooting her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Lydia."

Darcy frowned slightly and what -- what was this now? Jealousy? Really? Wow. 'What the fuck is wrong with me? Of course he loves Lydia. He always has... And I don't blame him.'

Allison merely rolled her eyes before plopping down on the couch beside the redhead and Aiden. Scott chuckled lightly as he slipped in beside the annoyed huntress, wrapping his arms securely around her waist.

"And we're NOT sad." Erica chipped in, shooting Isaac a scowl. "Well, I'M not, anyway."

"No." Peter snorted in amusement. "No, we're a happy and rambunctious group, if I ever saw one." To which, he earned a glare from each of his pack members then. Peter sighed, shaking his head helplessly at them all. "None of you are going humour me, not even a little, are you?"

"Nope." Scott chimed, shooting him a smug smirk, causing Darcy and Cora to smirk, too, though, in amusement.

Stiles sighed tiredly as he perched on the end of the coffee table. "Okay, I realise that we all sacrifice A LOT of our time -- our social lives --"

"All the time, more like." Lydia mumbled.

Stiles rolled his eyes at the redhead. "Okay, yeah." He sighed and nodding, having to agree there, because, well, it was true. "But we have to." He shrugged. "Our work demands it. And besides, it's not like we could walk away, even if we wanted to. NONE of us here are normal." He grinned at that, feeling slightly proud. "At least, not anymore."

"He's got a point." Boyd piped up with a thoughtful nod.

Scott sighed and nodded. "Yeah, it's true, I guess." He agreed. "I mean, who has time for a social life or a love life when you're out there doing it with the demons?" And of course, it was a rhetorical question, it's just that, well, Scott hadn't realised how that sounded until he'd said it out loud. And by then, it was too late for him -- all eyes were now focussed on him. "Okay... I know." He grumbled and nodded limply. "That came out sad and disturbingly wrong..."

...Stiles rubbed his cold hands together before slowly reaching for the passenger's door and opening it. He then stopped, turning his head back to face her. "Hey, uh, you wanna, I dunno, maybe hang with me for a little while?" And yes, he knew he probably sounded a little too hopeful, bit it was worth a shot for him. Even if he knew he might get a somewhat violent reaction for it.

Darcy shot him a curious look. "Why?" She asked, genuinely confused now.

Stiles arched a brow, staring back at her with the same look of confusion for a few seconds. "Uh, I dunno... I just, I thought you might like some company... I know I could use some." He gave a nervous, little laugh. "I mean, I love Scott, he's my fricking bro, but I... He's got Allison and the others have their own things going on and I dunno..." He let out a tired huff, his gaze falling to his lap. "It gets kinda boring and lonely sometimes, y'know?"

Darcy stared back at him, her expression unreadable, as usual, though, she seemed to be reading his, as usual. After a few quiet moments she nodded to herself before finally speaking up. "Okay."

Stiles' gaze snapped back up to hers, his brows raised sky high in surprise. "Really?" He practically squeaked. How very manly of him. 'Ugh.'

Darcy gave a small, amused smile before nodding again...

...Darcy didn't quite remember how she had ended up standing in the middle of Stiles' bedroom -- something about him wanting to show her something. And okay, she MAY have misunderstood that one a little. Okay, a lot. But now, now she was stood there, her eyes drifting around the walls, crowded with newspaper clippings and a whole bunch of messy handwriting; Stiles' handwriting.

"So? What'd you think?"

Darcy's gaze snapped to the man standing in front of her with a large piece of paper in his hand and a large, goofy grin slapped across his adorable face. Her eyes drifted down to the paper, her brow arching as she took in the black images; a small half moon beside a full moon of the same size. "You wanna get a tattoo?" She glanced back up at him, clearly surprised, and a little amused. "I like it." She nodded her approval. "But... You faint at the sight of blood." And then she smiled slightly, because she really couldn't help herself.

Stiles scowled playfully back down at her. "I don't have to watch." He countered snootily.

Darcy's smiled widened slightly. "But... You faint at the overwhelming sensation of pain... Actually, you could probably faint at the sound of your letter box opening." She added that last part with a cocky, little grin.

"Okay. That's fine." Stiles nodded calmly, though, clearly humouring her. "Make fun of the human. Nice. Classy werewolf banter. Never gets old."

Darcy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling. Her eyes then drifted back to the walls as he shuffled over to his desk, placing the paper back down.

"Oh, uh..." Stiles gave another nervous chuckle as he caught her staring at his ramblings. "I'm not going crazy again, I promise. I just, uh, sometimes I lose track of stuff and it's just easier this way. Less time consuming instead of rushing to find paper... Seeing as how my mind pretty much constantly runs, like, a million miles per second." He said, shooting her a sheepish smile.

Darcy glanced over at him, nodding in acknowledgement before glancing back to the wall to the left of her, her eyes lingering over a particular section. "'Listen, listen, listen...'" She mumbled to herself, slowly turning back to him. "What're you listening for?" She asked softly, her frown deepening slightly when she noticed a flicker of hesitation in his expression.

Stiles sighed quietly, his gaze dropping down to the floor between his Converse. "The click." He gulped quietly, when she shot him a curious look. "-- When it all comes together for me and makes sense again... There's like, this click in your brain. And when THAT eventually DOES happen for you, you can understand things again. And I'm kinda starting to think that the click might never happen for me... Things haven't really made that much sense to me since my mom died, really. And I know I should get over it, 'cause fuck, YOU lost pretty much nearly everyone, but I just can't... I don't think I ever will." He ended his explanation with a lazy shrug, as if trying to shrug his emotions off. If only.

"Stiles," And then Darcy was standing in front of him with the few graceful glides of her feet, her hands slowly reaching for his and simply just holding his in hers. She waited until his gaze was settled back on hers before speaking again. "What happens if you run out of wall space before you can get the click?" She asked, her voice as soft as her expression.

Stiles gulped silently and for once, it wasn't because of how close the she wolf was. It was because he was scared. "I... I don't know." He mumbled pathetically, staring helplessly down at her. And honestly? He hadn't really thought of that until now. And it terrified him.

"Stiles," Darcy smiled slightly, her fingers giving his a small, but reassuring squeeze. "I know you've spent your entire life trying to understand things, but that's just human nature. And this isn't a game of Top Trumps for dead relatives," Her smiled widened slightly when she heard him huff out a small laugh. "I know it hurts. But it's supposed to. The pain makes us human, remember?" She quirked a brow.

Stiles simply nodded, shooting her a weak smile.

"And besides," Darcy smiled softly. "You've still got time."

"Time?"

Darcy nodded.

"Time." Stiles repeated with a nod, a look of realisation washing over his face. "Huh... I have WHOLE treatise on THAT." He chirped, shooting her another goofy grin, though, only causing the werewolf to frown again. "It seems to take a lot of it to do just about anything these days." He stated with a nervous chuckle as he quickly pulled away from her and rushed back over to his desk.

Darcy's frown deepened as she watched him grab a black marker pen and begin to scrawl the word 'time' under the words 'listen'. "Stiles," She whispered, shuffling carefully over to him. "Stiles... Stiles, stop." She grabbed his wrist, gently pulling it away from the way and then took the pen from him with her other hand.

Stiles stared at her in utter confusion, and looking very much like a puppy who thought he was in trouble.

Darcy felt her chest clench slightly at the adorable look on his face. "Stiles, you don't have to write absolutely everything down." She told him with a small, but reassuring smile, letting him know that she wasn't angry with him.

Stiles gulped silently again, and nodded. "Right. Yeah." He let out another nervous laugh. "God, I should write THAT down."

Darcy smiled slightly in amusement before tossing the marker pen back onto his desk. "Just," She turned back to him. "Just be you... Be Stiles."

And really, Stiles couldn't help smiling at that. "But... Stiles annoys the hell outta you." He stated, shooting her an innocent look of confusion.

Darcy merely rolled her eyes. "True." She nodded. "You may be an idiot,"

"Ouch." Stiles pouted.

"But you MAY have also grown on me over the years." Darcy aired with a small smirk, making a point to look anywhere, but at him.

Stiles snorted at that. "Well, thank you..." He frowned. "I think...."

Darcy merely grinned.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Stiles," Darcy was in front of him and had her hand wrapped firmly around his wrist before even realising it. "You over-think, everything, too much." She stared up at him, looking slightly frustrated. "I need you -- okay? Is that what you want me to tell you?"
> 
> Stiles frowned slightly at that. "No... Not if that's the only reason you're saying it."

"Well," Cora chimed, running a hand through her frazzled hair as she waltzed out of the elevator and into her big sister's loft. "THAT was a blast." She grinned widely over at the older werewolf.

Darcy leaned against the large table, her arms folded and wearing a rather amused expression as her gaze drifted from her sister, to the panting human practically tumbling out of the elevator. "How'd it go?" And she asked anyway, because it just couldn't be helped. It was simply too entertaining for her.

"Meh." Cora shrugged as she sauntered easily over to the couch and plopped lazily down. "Princess Margaret over there," She gestured over to the still panting human with her thumb and an even wider grin on her face. "Had a LITTLE trouble keeping up. Especially towards the end." She added that last part with a wide grin.

Darcy snorted quietly at her baby sister before glancing back to the exhausted human. "How'd it go, Stilinski?" She asked seriously. Though, she was still smiling in amusement at him. 'Poor, little puppy. He tries so hard, bless him. Maybe I shouldn't have let him do this. Even if he DID ask.'

"Oh, uh," Stiles panted heavily, still trying to gain his rightful breathing back. "Cora, uh... Did really well... On the obstacle... Test... Field... Oh, holy shit, I think I might throw up."

"Bathroom." Darcy narrowed her eyes at him as a warning.

Stiles shook his head, waving his hands before slowly hauling himself back up onto his feet. "No, no. I'm... I'm good." He took a few final deep breaths before continuing. "Uh, yeah. The little Hale is fucking fast, alright. Almost as fast as big sis. Ugh... Again, holy shit." He shot the younger werewolf a pointed glare as he shuffled over to the couch and plopped tiredly down beside her.

Cora simply chuckled in response, earning her yet another glare.

Darcy rolled her eyes, though, still smiling slightly. "So, do you feel up to taking Boyd out this afternoon? Or shall I?" She asked, arching an expectant and somewhat teasing brow.

Stiles nodded, a determined look on his face. "No, it's cool, I think I can. I mean, Boyd's the heaviest outta you wolves, what with all the muscle. How bad can it be?" He smiled a somewhat optimistic smile, but as usual, it wasn't to last long.

Darcy smirked slightly. "Oh, no. I've already taken Boyd on his test run. Last night, in fact. It was thinking more along the lines of you testing his strength..."

Cora snorted at that. "Good luck with THAT. It was good knowing you, Stilinski."

Stiles shot the younger werewolf a brief glare. "Oh, come on!" He whined, shooting the older werewolf a pout. "Do you hate me THAT much?"

Darcy's smirk widened slightly. "I don't hate you. I just -- don't take this the wrong way -- but I kinda enjoy seeing you get hurt... Not like, seriously or anything... It's just... You're kinda animated, I guess... And... It's funny."

Cora nodded, wearing a thoughtful expression. "True. You are pretty funny to look at sometimes -- when you're flailing your arms around." She chuckled to herself at that.

Stiles then took seconds turns in glaring at both werewolf siblings. "I hate you. BOTH." He grumbled, folding his arms over his chest and proceeding to pout again.

"No, you don't." Cora laughed, playfully nudging her shoulder against his.

"Look, I'll be there, too." Darcy told him. "You can be Boyd's warm-up. Again, no offence, but you're not going to be much of a challenge for him."

"And again; all sorts of offence taken." Stiles said, shooting her a "duh" look.

Darcy merely rolled her eyes and smirked, because she already knew he was going to agree. And she also knew that Stiles knew she knew that, too. Which only made her smirk widened.

Stiles finally let out a loud, defeated sigh, throwing his arms up in the air in surrender before letting them fall back to his knees. "Fine!" He exclaimed. "But I STILL hate you both..."

...Stiles stood his ground, the long, wooden spear in his hands, ready to defend himself. And though he knew it was his friend, he still couldn't help nearly shitting himself. Like, seriously. Boyd was the biggest and the strongest of the pack -- besides Darcy, of course. But then again, even the she Alpha had trouble controlling him in the past. So, of course he was fricking scared.

A few meters away Darcy, Cora, Isaac and Peter stood in a perfect line, quietly observing the scene.

"Don't worry, Stilinski," Boyd grinned wickedly, his eyes glowing at the human. "I'll try REALLY hard not to break anything."

And while Stiles knew the werewolf actually meant that, he was still trying not to crap his pants. "Well, that's REALLY comforting. Thank you." He stated sarcastically, shooting the werewolf a brief glare.

Boyd's grin simply widened as he let out a loud roar; a sort of battle cry. And then he was lunging, with his full weight and right at the human.

And somehow, something inside of Stiles seemed to switch on automatically. It was like he was zoned in, fully focussed (for once) as he quickly dodged out of the way, though, barely just in time. He gripped the spear tightly, then lunging at the werewolf in return. And though he really would love to beat someone (for once) he also had to remember that he was here for Boyd; to test the werewolf.

Boyd sensed the attack, quickly turning around grabbing the thick wood in one clawed hand and crushing it effortlessly. And now, he felt the blood racing quickly through him, he felt his wolf; the animal crawling to the surface and it was clear that the man was getting into the fight. Perhaps a little TOO into it.

Stiles gasped slightly in shock, more than anything as the werewolf grabbed him by the throat and pulled him close, shooting him a smile full of large, razor-sharp canines.

Darcy tensed slightly, one of her feet shuffle slightly forward without even realising. That was until she felt a large, warm hand grabbing her gently by the shoulder to stop her. She gritted her teeth, knowing who it was, her eyes still on the human.

"Give him a chance." Peter muttered, his hand quickly slipping from her shoulder.

Darcy glared over at him briefly. "He'll probably kill Stiles in the next five minutes."

Peter smirked knowingly, much to her annoyance. "I didn't mean Boyd..."

Darcy simply responded by shooting him another glare before turning her eyes back to her Beta and her human.

"Come on, Stiles," Boyd grinned, his glowing orbs blazing right into the human's. "You're not even trying here." He purred tauntingly before letting the smaller man go.

Stiles let out another loud gasp, stumbling slightly back. He glared back at the werewolf, who chuckled at him. He glared down at the two pieces of broken wood in each hand before tossing them aside with a loud and frustrated huff. "That's IT!" He roared. "Bring, dickbag!" He barked, glaring daggers.

Boyd arched a brow, looking somewhere between amused and confused. "Oh, so you wanna play rough, huh?" He taunted with a cocky smirk, shaking his limbs to limber up, like some sort of taunting show for his opponent.

"Boyd. Take it easy." Darcy warned, her tone calm, but stern.

Boyd chuckled. "Oh, I'm not gonna hurt him." He promised, shooting his Alpha a reassuring look. "Too much, anyway." He mumbled, smirking wickedly over at the human.

Stiles scoffed loudly. "Just bring it, like yesterday, already." He drawled out with a bored tone.

Boyd let out another loud roar before charging full pelt again.

Stiles felt his heart jack-hammering in his chest, the familiar feeling he only got whenever he was around Darcy or he was about to use magic. And fuck, it felt so good. Like, every damn time it got even better. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to stay focussed. "Crawl." He mumbled before opening his eyes and lifting both his open palms out in front of him.

Boyd let out a loud, surprised snarl as he felt an invisible weight drop down on his back, forcing him to fall to his hands and knees. "What the fuck, Stiles!?" He growled, glaring up at the human as he felt his entire body from the neck down freezing up.

Stiles smirked widely down at the werewolf perched on the ground at his feet. "Surprise, bitch." He chirped, flipping the older man his middle finger before swirling around to face the others -- who all stood wearing similar shocked expressions (except for Peter, who, as always, was smirking to himself.) Ugh. "So? What'd you think? Huh?" He asked, grinning brightly at the other werewolves.

"Uh..." Isaac mumbled, his eyes still widened slightly.

"That... Was awesome!" Cora exclaimed.

Stiles grinned enthusiastically. "Yes! THAT'S the level of enthusiasm I was looking for!" He chimed.

"Well, we all knew you had it in you." Peter said. And wow, Stiles thought -- the creeperwolf actually looked impressed.

"Well, a mother's love DOES pay." Stiles chirped, smiling broadly.

"Uh, hello!?" Boyd piped up. "Still down here! Stiles!"

Stiles chuckled before turning around. "Alright, big guy, up you get."

And with that, Boyd suddenly slumped down, face first. "Asshole." He grumbled...

...Darcy eyed the tiny claw marks on the back of the human's neck, frowning slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Stiles turned around to face her.

"Your neck." Darcy said.

"Oh." Stiles smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Boyd just scratched me, that's all."

Darcy simply nodded in response, her eyes trailing back to the writing on his bedroom walls. "So, uh, how's your dad?"

Stiles arched a brow. "You're making small talk with me?" He smiled slightly, looking amused.

Darcy let out an annoyed huff before shooting him a brief glare.

Stiles held up his hands in defence as he let out a chuckle. "My dad's fine. He's actually seeing someone now. Her name's Amy. She's nice. And she looks after him when I'm not around to." He smiled fondly as he spoke of the woman.

Darcy nodded, smiling slightly, too.

"So... The other night..." Stiles was wary to ask, but he still wanted to know. She still hadn't explained and she had said that she would. Later. Well, it was later now. "What happened to you?"

Darcy let out a sigh before turning her gaze back to his. "I was attacked."

Stiles waited for her to continue and when she didn't, he shot her a "what the fuck?" look. "Uh... A LITTLE more information MIGHT be helpful here."

"I don't know what it was. I've never seen anything like it. I asked both Peter and Deaton -- they don't know anything, either." Darcy stated simply.

Stiles arched a brow. "If I'm supposed to be your emissary, then why didn't you come to me instead of Deaton?" He asked sceptically.

"I DID come to you." Darcy pointed out calmly.

Stiles' eyes narrowed slightly. "You came to me for some cold comfort. You don't need to pretend it was anything else. It's okay, I get it. I'm not useful to you in any other way." He let out a tired sigh as he made his way towards the tiny on-suite bathroom attached to his bedroom.

"Stiles," Darcy was in front of him and had her hand wrapped firmly around his wrist before even realising it. "You over-think, everything, too much." She stared up at him, looking slightly frustrated. "I need you -- okay? Is that what you want me to tell you?"

Stiles frowned slightly at that. "No... Not if that's the only reason you're saying it." And this time, she let him go, her expression faltering slightly. It was enough of an answer for Stiles. So, with that, he made his way to the bathroom and not to his surprise, when he returned a few minutes later, he was alone again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Have you ever been drunk?" Stiles asked curiously. "Can werewolves even get drunk?" He glanced around, looking for his answer.

"Morning, all!" Allison chimed as she stepped out of the elevator with Scott following closely behind her, wearing a small smile.

"Ugh." Lydia grumbled, holding a half empty glass of cold water against her aching forehead. "How the fuck are you so happy today? You drank even more than Aiden and Ethan combined last night. God, I hate you."

Allison merely grinned as she plopped down on the couch beside the redhead and the twins.

"AND she was drinking gin, again." Danny piped up from his perch on the couch beside Ethan.

Lydia shot the bright and bubbly huntress a bitter glare after hearing that. "I hate you. A LOT."

Allison chuckled this time. "It's not my fault that all my friends are a bunch of lightweights." She shrugged. "Seriously, you're werewolves," She shot the twins a pointed look. "Man the fuck up... Or wolf the fuck up, in both your cases."

To which the twins simultaneously glared at her.

"Hey, you guys ever tried your little merging trick before drinking?" Isaac asked. And while he was clearly taunting them, too, now, he was actually curious about that one. He had wondered it a few times in the past, but always forgot to ask.

To which, the twins directed their glare at the curly-haired wolf instead.

"I'm not just messing -- I seriously wanna know." Isaac said.

Ethan rolled his eyes before answering at the end of a defeated, little sigh. "Yeah. Once. When we were 15. It didn't work."

Isaac nodded in acknowledgement, a thoughtful expression spreading across his face.

"Have you ever been drunk?" Stiles asked curiously. "Can werewolves even get drunk?" He glanced around, looking for his answer.

"I've been drunk before." Scott said. "But not as a werewolf."

"Yeah, me, neither." Erica piped up, looking slightly downtrodden by that sudden realisation.

"But yeah, we can get drunk." Cora nodded. "I mean, we have to drink a lot and we have to drink it as fast as possible, but yeah, it's possible."

Stiles nodded. "Huh. Cool."

"Not really." Peter piped up as he sauntered slowly down the spiral staircase and over to stand with the group. "It's VERY expensive." He stated, looking rather annoyed about that fact.

"And it doesn't even last that long." Cora added.

"So, why drink at all?" Boyd asked curiously.

Peter scoffed. "Why not? It tastes good, at least."

"THAT'S true." Allison grinned, causing Scott to smirk and shake his head in amusement.

"Are we done?" Darcy piped up finally from her place by the large window. She had let them wake up, let them talk for a little bit, but now she was just getting impatient. She had called them here for a reason, yet they didn't seem to give a crap. As usual.

Peter rolled his eyes at his ever-grumpy niece. Though, as always, he was smirking in amusement to himself.

Scott, as usual, was the first to speak up to their ever-miserable she Alpha. "Sorry." He held his hands up. "Go ahead."

Darcy arched a brow at him, clearly unimpressed. And while the pup just smiled sheepishly up at her, she was also well aware of his so-called best friend smirking in amusement from the corner of her eye.

"So, what's going on?" Isaac asked. Being the first Beta Darcy had ever turned, they had a special bond. And though he trusted Scott, there was always some part of him that stayed fiercely loyal to her.

"Yeah. What kinda beastie do we have to kill this week?" Erica chipped in, wearing her usual, stunning, pearly-white grin.

Darcy scowled slightly before slowly moving closer to her pack. "His name is Deevak. He's a demon who can shapeshift into any human form whenever he wants."

"And HOW do you know all of this?" Scott asked suspiciously.

"He knew my mother and a few of her friends. I managed to track down a couple of them." Darcy explained simply.

Scott simply nodded.

"What does he want?" Stiles finally asked, shooting her a more curious look.

"To kill me." Darcy rolled her eyes. "He has a bunch of idiot Omega werewolves working for him and apparently I've killed quite a lot of them in the last year and half."

"Plus, Billy was Deevak's before he came to us." Cora added.

"Well, no wonder he cried like a little bitch when Darcy kicked his furry, little ass out onto the cold, hard curb." Stiles scoffed.

Darcy nodded, fighting the urge to smile. "Somehow the kid escaped Deevak's clutches. But HE seems to think I stole the idiot pup from him." She explained with another roll of her eyes.

"And now he wants to kill Darcy and all of us, too." Cora added, smiling sheepishly when her big sister shot her a glare.

"So, is that why you've been testing all of us for the last week?" Boyd asked, arching an expectant brow. Though, it was clear he already knew the answer, he just wanted a little confirmation.

Darcy sighed lightly and nodded.

"Well, that makes sense." Isaac said, earning a small, but grateful smile from his Alpha.

Stiles mentally scoffed. 'Such a fricking suck-up. Ugh... Curly-haired fuck.'

"So, what do we do now?" Scott asked, glancing to his Alpha.

"We find him. We kill him." Darcy stated simply, as if it were obvious, which is should have been.

Scott stared blankly before nodding. "Okay, yeah, that works for me."

"Uh-huh. And HOW do we kill this demon, exactly?" Stiles asked, arching an expectant brow between the two werewolves.

"Cut him in half. Vertically." Darcy replied, her voice as calm as her expression.

Stiles grimaced slightly. "Oh. Okay... Gross."

And really, why? Darcy could help smiling at that. 'Such an animated face. Such a pretty, animated face... Ugh.'

"Oh! We could slice him up through his balls to his head!" Erica chimed excitedly, earning a few disturbed glances -- including one from her own boyfriend.

"Baby, that's just nasty." Boyd said, shaking his head in dismay.

"Pff." Erica rolled her eyes, flicking her long, blonde locks out of her face. "Says the guy who ate an innocent, little bunny."

"Awh. You killed a bunny?" Allison shot him a disapproving look.

Boyd rolled his eyes. "It was on one of my first full moons. Totally not my fault."

"Okay, seriously, shut up about eating raw bunnies and shit before I throw the fuck up on all three of you." Lydia ground out, glaring pointedly between the trio.

Darcy let out a loud huff. "Alright, that's it. Meeting adjourned. Get out. All of you..."

...Darcy arched a brow at the last man standing in her apartment. "I thought I told everyone 'out'." It wasn't a threat, nor a warning. In fact, she seemed slightly wary of the man staring back at her with those big, brown eyes of his. Eyes that made her hold her breath sometimes, without even realising it.

Stiles gave a lazy shrug. "You've been avoiding me." He stated, his tone calm, though, his expression curious -- and slightly hurt.

Darcy scowled slightly. "YOU'RE the one who's avoiding ME."

Stiles noticed the genuine look of confusion in her own clear, greeny-blue orbs and frowned slightly, his own confusion growing.

Darcy sighed lightly. "It's fine. I don't blame you." She gave her own lazy shrug. "I get why you're pissed with me -- I make you feel like I -- like we need you enough. But we do."

Stiles nodded. "I know. I was just being a brat, 'cause I'd have a rough day... Sorry." He shot her a small, sheepish smile.

"What'd you mean? What happened?" Darcy shot him a curious look.

Stiles sighed tiredly. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Darcy simply nodded, respecting his wishes and leaving it at that. However, she knew there was something he was hiding. Perhaps from the others, too. And that made her all too uneasy, not to mentioned a little dreaded.

And look over at the she wolf, the moonlight beaming down through the large loft window and making her look like she was fricking glowing -- in that moment, something in Stiles allowed him to let go, just a little and he thought: 'Fuck it.' He let out a slightly shaking breath before speaking again. "Hey, uh, Darcy," He began to feel his nerves growing by tenfold as she glanced curiously over at him, her orbs intense, as always, no matter what expression. "I was thinking that, uh, maybe I could take you out... Sometime... Maybe..."

Darcy stared blankly back at him for a few moments.

Stiles gulped silently, feeling his palms begin to sweat slightly as his pulse spiked. "Or not. It was just a thought. A stupid thought, in fact. One that my so-called best friend and brother put into my head. So, please, just, don't hit me, or rip my throat out or --"

"Stiles,"

Stiles pursed his lips together to keep himself from talking anymore. And he could see the slight amusement in her orbs, which only made his heart sink. Even if he didn't expect her to agree, it still stung like a motherfucker.

Darcy tilted her head slightly, her gaze still glued to his nervous one. "When you say 'take me out' -- do you mean like on a date?" She asked, her tone serious and her expression calm, but somewhat curious again.

Stiles gulped silently again as he nodded. "Uh, yeah. Yes." He all, but stammered. And why the fuck hadn't she hit him yet?

Darcy smiled ever so slightly. "Hm... Yeah. Okay." She nodded, her smile quirking a little wider. And to say that she was thrilled right now would be a fricking understatement. 'Ugh. I can't believe how fucking girly I'm becoming. It's so UNbecoming.'

"Really?" Stiles' eyes widened slightly, looking somewhere between shocked and pleasantly surprised. "Seriously, though?" He asked again, looking a little more serious. 'Why the fuck would she ever say 'yes'? What the actual fuckedy fuck is happening here!? No, it's cool, Stiles. This is good. MORE than good. So quit fucking questioning it! Oh, man, I could kiss Scott! That beautiful, furry, little bastard! Okay, stop -- she looks like she's about to talk --'

"Yeah. I don't see why not. Besides, I could use a normal night out." Darcy shot him a small smile.

"Wow... O-okay." Stiles nodded, smiling nervously.

Darcy chuckled, shooting him a knowing look. "You didn't think I'd say 'yes' -- did you?"

"I did not, no." Stiles shot her a sheepish look. "To be honest, I have no idea where to take you, 'cause I kinda didn't plan that far ahead."

Darcy smirked. "Don't worry, cowboy. You'll figure it out. You always do."

And really, how could Stiles not grin at that?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wow! Holy jizz! They'll be nothing left of Stiles by the morning! Aha!" Aiden wailed, laughing loudly.
> 
> "Ew! 'Holy jizz'?" Scott shot the older Beta a disgusted look.
> 
> "Yeah! It'll be like an elephant riding a mouse! Baha!" Ethan added, then burst out laughing along with his twin, the two of them sharing a quick high-five.

Stiles stared between his precious, yet rather battered, old Jeep and the pretty, slick and stupidly perfect, black Camaro. "Hmm. I don't think I thought this through properly." He stated, sounding somewhere between regretful and slightly embarrassed.

Standing beside him, Darcy smirked in amusement. "You think literally everything through, Stilinski. All of the time. You pretty much live to think. AND use that smartass mouth of yours."

Stiles arched a brow, trying to look somewhat offended, but failing miserably. "Yeah... But still," He frowned. "I'M supposed to be taking YOU out here and already, you've upstaged me."

"True." Darcy nodded, turning to him with a grin. "So, how about YOU drive me around in the Camaro tonight?" She chirped, dangling the keys in front of him.

Stiles' eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Darcy nodded. "Yeah. But you break it, you buy it." She added that last part with a stern, little look.

Stiles nodded all too eagerly before grabbing the keys off of her. "Then you're chariot awaits, milady." He grinned widely, holding his arm out for her.

Darcy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling slightly. "You're such a dork." And it is SO fucking adorable -- is what she wanted to add, but hesitated like a fricking chicken at the last second.

Stiles simply beamed as he looped her arm with his, anyway -- perhaps just to humour him, but he really didn't care right now, because he was taking Darcy out on a fucking date AND about to drive her sweetass ride. Did it get any better than this? If it did, God help him, that's all he could think right now as he lead them both towards the vehicle.

Darcy arched a surprised brow as he stopped to open the passenger's door for her first. "Intelligent, AND a gentleman." She purred. And okay, yeah, she was teasing a little, but it wasn't as if he even cared. She chuckled quietly as a light blush spread across his smooth, pale cheeks before sliding her arm out of his and sliding gracefully into the car.

Stiles gulped silently before shutting her door and coming around to hop into the driver's side. "Okay. This is as awesome as I always thought it would be." He grinned as he shoved the keys into the ignition and turned them, the engine roaring into life.

Darcy smirked. "Just don't drive like a lunatic."

Stiles simply grinned as he pulled out of the parking space. "Yeah, you got it, sourwolf..."

...Darcy arched a brow over at the human as he slid into the opposite side of the booth. "A bar?" She shot him a slightly teasing grin, showing him that she wasn't disappointed. She was merely surprised.

"Huh, yeah." Stiles chuckled nervously. "Well, I figure that it's pretty impossible to impress Darcy Hale. Aside from being born a werewolf and having seen pretty much everything, done everything -- you're also really beautiful -- which, I guess you know... And under all of those glares, I know there's actually a pretty awesome person underneath."

Darcy arched a brow, this time looking slightly taken aback -- and dare she say it? "Y'know, I think I underestimate you sometimes -- you seem to read people pretty well. So, consider me impressed." Huh. Apparently she dared.

Stiles, too, arched a brow of his own, looking somewhere between surprised and slightly confused. "Uh... Thank you?"

Darcy chuckled. "Yes, that was actually a compliment. And you're welcome."

Stiles' brow rose slightly higher. "Wow. I think I underestimate you, too, sometimes."

"Oh?" Darcy arched a more intrigued brow this time.

Stiles smiled sheepishly. "You're not so sour after all... Well, not all the time, anyway."

Darcy merely rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling at that.

"I just, I thought I could just buy us a few rounds and we could just hang, just the two of us." Stiles explained. "And what I said -- I didn't mean that I wasn't gonna at least try to impress you." He added with a small, mischievous grin.

Darcy narrowed her eyes suspiciously, sensing the trouble ahead. But she actually kind of felt a little excited. This human in particular always seemed to surprise her. "Oh, yeah?" She arched her brow, as if challenging him.

Stiles' grin widened slightly as he nodded. "Here," He held up his right hand, his palm spread open. "Watch this."

Darcy's eyes flew to his open palm, then widening slightly as a small, white, laser-like light suddenly appeared. It seemed to be embedded into his skin, twinkling and flickering as he wiggled his fingers lightly.

"Hold your hand up, like mine." Stiles told her, his voice soft as he watched her slowly comply. He then curled his fingers, his hand closing and concealing the light. He smiled when she frowned, looking confused as he opened his hand again, the light having disappeared completely. "Look at your other hand."

Darcy quickly glanced down at her left hand, her eyes widening slightly at the light having reappeared in the palm of her own hand. With her other hands, she gently touched the light, frowning when she felt nothing, just the rough skin of her hand.

Stiles chuckled lightly at her utterly confused expression. "It's just an illusion; a trick." He told her as they both watched the light slowly fade out altogether. "Pretty cool, huh?" He smiled brightly when she stared up at him, looking slightly amazed.

"What --" Darcy glanced at him, slightly wide-eyed. "What else can you do?" She asked, sounding slightly amazed.

Stiles' smile widened. "Uh, well, I'm practising with a few things lately, like, uh, oh, moving things with my mind, that's a pretty cool one. Uh, I can do mostly tricks, mind-fuck type stuff, y'know."

Darcy arched a brow, looking somewhat impressed. "How long have you been playing around with magic?" She was slightly hurt by the fact that he had kept something like from her. She was supposed to be his Alpha.

Oblivious, Stiles replied with a casual shrug. "I dunno. The last two years, maybe. Properly, anyway. I just dabbled before." He added with a small grin.

Darcy nodded, taking a large sip of her beer.

"So, this Deevak guy --" Stiles piped up curiously. "How bad is he, exactly? I mean, do I need to be sweating here? Or is this just gonna be another demon, another day in the office type of thing?" He knew he was ranting -- he did that when he was nervous or uneasy or worried.

"It'll be fine." Darcy said, offering a small, but reassuring smile. "He hasn't got any supernatural abilities, fortunately. He's pretty heavily built, but his muscle and his Omegas are the only things we need to focus on."

Stiles nodded, letting out a small, but relieved sigh. "Okay, good, 'cause I was planning to go away with my dad this weekend. Just the two of us... I mean, if that's cool? I just, I think it'd be good for him --"

"Stiles," Darcy smiled. "It's fine. You should go. Some time away would be good. For all of us, really." She muttered that last part thoughtfully.

Stiles' expression brightened instantly as an idea struck him. "Well, hey, maybe we should all go on a road-trip or a vacation sometime. Y'know, pack bonding time and all." He grinned excitedly at the mere thought. "Oh! We could go to Vegas!"

Darcy chuckled. "Maybe."

"Oh, come on! Don't be such a sourwolf." Stiles whined, ignoring her scowl. "I gave you that nickname out of affection." He justified all too snootily.

Darcy scoffed lightly. "Yeah, right." She drawled out before taking another sip of her beer.

"Oh, come on! We could totally go to Vegas. We wouldn't even have to drive there. I could totally teleport us all there. Seriously." Stiles stated with a wide and proud smile.

Darcy arched a brow. "You could?"

Stiles' smile widened into a cheeky grin. "Totally."

Darcy nodded thoughtfully. "Well, it WOULD be useful if we could get back quickly if we needed to."

"Uh-huh..." Stiles eyed her carefully, waiting and holding onto his excitement. Was she actually fricking considering his idea? 'Holy f... Cow.'

"Hm. I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Yeah..."

Darcy nodded. "Okay. After we clear up this Deevak mess, we can all go on a nice, normal vacation."

"Really!?" Stiles squealed excitedly, his features lit up like a fricking Christmas tree.

Darcy chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Why not?"

"Oh, my g -- Can we go to Vegas?" Stiles asked in a small voice, his expression painfully hopefully.

And seriously, how the heck was she supposed to refuse him anything when he looked at her like that? It really wasn't fucking fair. "Ugh. Yes. Fine." Darcy rolled her eyes, though, she was smirking slightly.

"Oh, my God! Yes! Yes, Darcy! You are awesome! Thank you!" Stiles grinned widely, bouncing excitedly in his seat like a little kid. "Oh, my God, seriously, Scott and Erica are gonna pee their furry, little werewolf panties."

Darcy huffed out a small laugh at that, shaking her head lightly...

...Scott shook his head, still looking slightly baffled. "I just, I mean, I'm happy for him, obviously. He's my bro. But... I can't get over her agreeing to go out with him."

Erica nodded. "I love her, she's our Alpha, so duh, but she's just SO miserable. And Stiles is so bubbly and happy all the damn time." She blurted out, Scott nodding his agreement.

"Yeah, when he ISN'T being sarcastic AND annoying." Isaac snorted.

Cora glared between Scott and Erica. "Hey! My sister is NOT miserable!" She barked. "She's just moody... And..."

"And miserable." Boyd piped up, smirking when the youngest Hale glare at him.

"Well, I still think it's cute." Allison stated, glaring at all of them.

"It's cute." Lydia nodded. "But still kinda weird." She frowned slightly.

Allison rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Think they'll make out?" Isaac asked, smirking slightly in amusement along with Cora and the twins.

"Well, if Stiles has anything to do with it," Scott grinned childishly.

"Well, Darcy hasn't been laid since, like, forever now." Cora stated, earning her a few wrinkled faces. "Not since Jennifer, I think."

"Wow! Holy jizz! They'll be nothing left of Stiles by the morning! Aha!" Aiden wailed, laughing loudly.

"Ew! 'Holy jizz'?" Scott shot the older Beta a disgusted look.

"Yeah! It'll be like an elephant riding a mouse! Baha!" Ethan added, then burst out laughing along with his twin, the two of them sharing a quick high-five.

And then, it couldn't be helped, the rest of the group erupted into fits of laughter then. Even Allison. But not the redhead.

"What are you, like, back in high school now?" Lydia scoffed, shaking her head in dismay when they all burst out laughing again. "I'm surrounded by immature morons."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles glared after the creeperwolf for a few moments before turning to his Alpha. "I know he's your uncle and whatever, but I really do hate him." He stated, his voice calm, but his expression serious.

2 WEEKS LATER...

The whole Deevak situation had been dealt with pretty easily -- while Darcy took out the demon, her pack either beat his wolves into submission before making them scamper off without a second glance or (to the less intelligent wolves) beaten them simply to death. It hadn't been pretty, but thankfully, the fight was mostly one-sided. And that was a week ago. And today, like everyday, the pack had yet another problem to deal with...

"Any news on this werebitch?" Darcy asked, arching an expectant brow.

"Boyd and I swept through her usual hangouts and Stiles and Lydia ran through their usual voodoo. I even got Deaton to help." Scott piped up first. "But each time, it's the same result."

Stiles nodded. "Yeah, I ran a bunch of different locations spells and literally nothing." He sighed, sounding somewhat disheartened.

"It's like she's completely vanished off the face of the Earth." Lydia put in, looking somewhere between confused and annoyed.

"Well, I can't say that I'm particularly depressed by THAT news." Peter chimed with a thoughtful look.

"Yeah," Stiles scoffed. "You're not the only there, dude."

Darcy smirked slightly at that.

"Yeah, but she DID leave swearing bloody vengeance." Isaac stated with a pointed look.

"And THAT doesn't usually go well for us." Allison added.

"Yeah, well, I don't take lightly to betrayal." Darcy stated, her tone somewhat bitter.

"Speaking of which --" Stiles glanced expectantly over to the youngest Hale.

"Oh, uh, no news on Billy. I've asked around the Omegas we left standing, but none of them have seen him since he fled from the fight with his tale between his legs." Cora confirmed, looking annoyed.

"Son of a bitch." Stiles muttered, glaring to himself.

"How's your arm, by the way?" Scott asked, shooting his best friend a concerned look.

"Eh," Stiles shrugged lazily. "Fine. Now, anyway." He glared again. "That furry, little fucker's gonna pay. He almost took my fucking arm off."

"Yeah, but we had your back." Erica chimed in, grinning sweetly between him and her boyfriend.

Stiles grinned at the memory of Erica appearing out of nowhere, saving his life by grabbing Billy's throat before tossing him over to Boyd, who then proceeded to give him the beating of his miserable, little life. "Ah, that, ya did. Thanks, pups." He shot them both a grateful smile.

Erica grinned back, whereas Boyd simply rolled his eyes playfully.

Darcy's lips twitched slightly. It always made he feel happy to know that her pack were close, as friends, as well as pack mates.

"Well, going off of the last we saw of him, Billy should be boiling in his own miserably Omega filth right now." Aiden stated with a wicked smirk.

"Yeah, well, 'should be' isn't good enough for me anymore." Darcy stated pointedly, causing her baby sister to roll her eyes. "We need to find out. I need to know. He led us into a fucking trap and almost got us all killed. He betray us once, and I showed mercy by sparing his pathetic life. So NOW, I'm not gonna stop until I have his fucking head in the palm of my hand." She stated, her voice calm, but incredibly low and firm.

Stiles, along with the others (except for Peter, who was smirking in amusement, as always) stared wide-eyed for a few seconds. And as always, Stiles had to be the first to speak. "Uh. Yeah... Yeah, that, uh... That works for me..." He nodded limply. And holy fuck -- what the hell was wrong with him? How the frig did he managed to feel turned on right now!? 'Kill me... Please. God, I hope the stupid wolves don't notice...' And thankfully, they didn't seem to. Although, he may have suspected that they were either a little preoccupied or just keeping it to themselves. Either way, he was incredibly relieved. And grateful, of course. Because any other time, he knew that they would have ripped the shit out of him for it. Figuratively speaking, of course. Which was actually kind of worse, he thought.

"Well, the white room's empty." Lydia stated, looking a little troubled. "I went to ask the Oracles for help, twice this week. And they seem to have vanished, too."

"Oh, great." Aiden seethed. "That means our link to the higher powers are fucked."

Ethan nodded. "Which means that it's gonna be REAL hard getting any proper information on anything."

"Ever." Peter added pointedly, Ethan nodding his agreement.

"Is there no way to establish another link through to the higher powers?" Darcy asked, glancing to the redhead.

"Well, we have options..." Lydia began, biting her bottom lip warily.

"Translated, does that mean you have to go on a bunch of long-ass errands for the next 24 hours, like you did last time?" Stiles asked, his voice slightly tinted with sarcasm as he rose an expectant brow.

Lydia nodded, looking rather exasperated by the mere notion. "Unfortunately. Yes. But I'll get right on it." She added that last part in confirmation to her Alpha.

"Eh, it can wait until the morning, at least." Darcy waved a dismissive hand. "For now, both Billy and Harley are gone. So let's just leave it at that and end on a high note for today."

"Ah, for a change." Peter grinned. And he actually seemed genuinely pleased by his niece's decision. For once. Because it really was a rarity. The woman was so fricking stubborn. She always had been, in fact. Although, it only reminded him of her mother; his sister and it was something he had actually always loved about them both. Though, he would probably never say that out loud.

"Wow," Boyd raised his brows over at his Alpha, shooting her a surprised look. "You're calling the patient before midnight on a Friday?"

"Careful, gang," Allison chirped, shooting Darcy a teasing grin. "We MIGHT actually be able to have social lives..."

"Ugh, speak for yourself." Stiles let out a loud, tired sigh. "I've got, like, five or six hours of spell detailing to do before tomorrow's lunchtime is out." He stated miserably.

Scott chuckled.

"How're the classes going?" Lydia asked, sounding as keenly interested as she looked. Genuine, which was a rarity.

"Meh," Stiles gave a lazy shrug. "They're good. The practical work's really fun, the paperwork is just a motherfucker." He huffed. "Uh, thanks for recommending me, by the way." He added, shooting the redhead a grateful smile.

Lydia smiled and nodded. "No problem. I did a course on the craft of Necromancy a couple of years ago. It was pretty awesome." She grinned.

Stiles arched a brow. "Why didn't I know this?"

Lydia shrugged. "You never asked."

Stiles rolled his eyes to that.

"Well, I gotta go." Allison stated, grabbing her messenger's bag and rising from the couch. "I got a mess of briefings to go through." She stated with a roll of her eyes as she made her way towards the elevator.

"You know you're going straight to Hell for becoming a lawyer, right?" Stiles deadpanned. "YOU were the last one out of the group that I expected to fall into such a gig." He added, shaking his head in dismay.

Allison flipped him a middle finger and then blew her boyfriend a kiss just in time as the elevator doors closed.

"I'm out, too." Lydia said. "I have to re-do the entire Trask experiment, seeing as how Knox REALLY dropped the ball on THAT one." She then glared in annoyance by the mere image of her assistant's face. "You guys hitching a ride with me?" She asked the twins.

Ethan shook his head. "Brought my Viper. But thanks."

Lydia nodded. "Alright, well, see ya tomorrow." She chimed before making her way towards the elevator, Aiden following closely behind her as always.

"Well, so much for our social lives returning." Erica mumbled, rolling her eyes and wearing a rather bummed out expression.

"Well, after what little sleep we get and our normal jobs, how about we meet back here and discuss our supernatural jobs some more?" Darcy asked. She was only half joking, though, the others seem to take her seriously as they nodded somewhat thoughtfully.

"Yeah." Cora nodded.

"Fine." Scott grumbled.

"Sure." Isaac piped up.

"Why not?" Erica drawled.

"Not like we got anything else to do." Boyd muttered.

"I can't wait." Stiles stated sarcastically.

"Sounds lovely." Peter sighed.

"Ugh. What the frig did we even do with our lives before we got these jobs?" Scott whined.

"I recall lots and lots of Jenga in my time... And Mortal Combat live with those idiot Italians." Stiles stated with a frown.

"Oh, let it go, dude." Scott rolled his eyes.

"They were bad-mouthing my girlish hands!" Stiles snapped, glaring at his so-called best friend. "I mean, how do they even know!? They don't! 'Cause I don't! And they haven't even seen me! And that's not even the fucking point! I am a pro! They needed to recognise, yo!"

The others simply watched the two, smirking to themselves. Even Darcy seemed highly amused by this point.

Scott stared blankly back at him. "That was 13 fucking years ago... Seriously, dude." He drawled out, clearly unimpressed.

And now, Peter had finally had enough of the mindless bickering. He quickly checked his Rolex and grinned excitedly. "Well, I am out of here." He announced happily.

"Oh." Darcy shot him a mocking look of disappointment. "Bye." She added quickly, her expression then morphing into a smug smirk.

Peter simply rolled his eyes, too happy to care right now, because he was about to party the fucking night away. It was his 48th birthday after all, not that anyone else remembered or even cared. But he didn't mind. As long as he got to drink copious amounts of alcohol, get laid and do other naughty things, he was pretty fucking dandy.

Cora chuckled in amusement at that, as did Stiles. And then there was Scott, who smirked knowingly to himself as he glanced between his best friend and his Alpha.

"Where are you off to, Uncle Peter?" Cora asked out of curiosity.

Peter grinned widely again, the excitement returning to his bright, blue orbs. "I'm also meant to be working tonight. There's a client party down at Skybar with my name all over it. I clock off from the door shift at midnight. So, from then on, it's party time for me."

"Huh." Cora nodded thoughtfully. "Can I come?" She asked curiously.

Peter arched a brow. "I don't see why not." His grin then widened. "Well, this WILL be fun."

Cora chuckled as she rose from the couch. "Can Isaac come, too?"

Peter let out an over-dramatic sigh, though, he was still grinning his usual wolfish grin from ear to ear. "I suppose so."

"Sweet." Isaac chimed, grinning as he followed the two older werewolves.

"Pff." Stiles scoffed loudly. "And THAT'S work, how?" He arched an expectant brow, clearly unimpressed, and also maybe kind of a little jealous. Although, he was never really the hardcore party type of guy. But still. It was nice to be invited sometimes.

"Have you been to Skybar lately?" Peter arched a brow in return. "It's all frat boys and television executives. Enough said, really." The three then shuffled into the elevator. "Toodles." Peter gave a mocking little wave, smirking smugly as the doors closed behind the metal partition.

Stiles glared after the creeperwolf for a few moments before turning to his Alpha. "I know he's your uncle and whatever, but I really do hate him." He stated, his voice calm, his expression serious.

Darcy smirked slightly. "Yeah. The feeling's mutual."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy's eyes narrowed a little further, almost challengingly now. "You're... You're too weak to take me." He stated, trying to sound confidant as he observed her slightly swaying form.
> 
> Darcy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in return. "You really think that?" She challenged right back, her voice still low.

1 MONTH LATER...

"Holy fuck! What the FUCK!?" Stiles exclaimed, his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, shit..." Boyd mumbled to himself, clearly as shocked as his pack mates were.

"Darcy!" Erica practically screeched when her eyes landed on her bruised and bloodied Alpha.

"It's okay! She's okay!" Scott announced as he carried the semi-conscious she wolf in his arms, bridal style. He swiftly crossed his Alpha's loft and placed her gently down on the couch.

"What the fuck, Scott!? Exactly HOW the fuck is she okay!?" Stiles roared, glaring over at his best friend as he rushed over to the Alpha.

"What happened to her? Where has she been?" Lydia asked, her eyes widened in concern as she glanced down at the battered werewolf.

"The fuck if I know!" Scott practically squealed, looking somewhat helpless. "I found her like this while I was on my usual midnight run in the woods."

"It's been almost three fucking weeks!" Aiden growled. "Where the fuck has she been all this time?"

"Well, I told you that she didn't abandon us. She'd never abandon us." Ethan stated pointedly, shooting his brother a glare.

Aiden simply rolled his eyes back at his twin.

"It was another werewolf. I can smell it in her blood." Isaac noted, wrinkling his nose slightly.

"The scent's familiar, too." Boyd stated curiously.

"Yeah." Scott nodded, wearing a knowing look. "That's what I thought."

"Billy..." Cora seethed.

"That son of a werebitch!" Stiles snapped angrily.

"No..." Cora said, her voice low, her eyes narrowed in on the familiar figure now lingering just outside the elevator. "I mean; he's here."

At that rather quiet announcement, the others all snapped out of their distraction. Their heads pick up in unison, their angry gazes landing on the familiar, but clearly not welcome werewolf.

"Hello, my pack; my family." Billy said, his voice calm, but somehow also venomous, and a small smirk lingering at the corners of his lips.

Slowly and carefully, Stiles, along with the other wolves all stood in a perfect line, acting as a protective barrier for their wounded Alpha.

Scott, as the second in command, took the front, along with Lydia, who stood beside him, an angry, defiant look on her face.

Billy chuckled lightly, clearly amused by the little display.

"What'd YOU want?" Scott barked, his eyes narrowed into angry slits.

"To come home, of course." Billy let out another chuckle, clearly sharing a joke with himself. He then took a single step forward, his eyes settling on the little Beta before he flashed his own set of now red orbs back. And as predicted, the little Beta's defiant expression faltered. Though, only slightly, but it was enough, and the new Alpha couldn't help smirking smugly. "I'M gonna be your Alpha now."

"Go fuck yourself!" Erica snapped.

"Yeah! Like THAT is EVER gonna happen, dude!" Stiles ground out.

"I wasn't asking." Billy snarled, his red orbs burning bright, his claws and canines also slowly protruding now. "I AM your Alpha now."

"And again --" Boyd pointed a thumb towards Erica -- who shouted out another "Go fuck yourself!"

"DARCY is our Alpha. But thanks." Cora stated, her tone dripping with bitter sarcasm.

"And WHO did you have to kill for that power?" Allison chided, staring at the Alpha in utter disgust.

"None of your business, hunter filth." Billy snarled, glaring angrily back at her before leaping.

Without even thinking, Scott lunged back at the Alpha in return, Boyd and the twins falling out of line to help their pack brother in his attack.

Billy easily caught Scott by the throat, holding him in place as he sent a quick, but hard punch to each of the twins' faces, sending them both reeling back. He then grabbed Boyd with his free hand before smacking both his and Scott's heads together, rendering them unconscious and then tossing them both carelessly to the floor. He glanced up at the others, smirking smugly again when he noticed the various looks of horror and shock. "I think I'm going to enjoy this. A LOT."

Cora let out a loud, angry roar, her eyes burning like molten lava, her claws and canines fully fledged and ready. She pounced then, throwing herself with a little more grace and skill and managing to dodge the rookie Alpha's on-coming swipes and punches. She smirked when he let out an frustrated snarl, but her victory was short-lived when she felt his claws latch onto the back of her neck, his other hand grabbing her hair and yanking her back into him. She let out a small, pain-filled yelp when she felt him take a large bite out of her left shoulder before tossing her carelessly aside.

Erica glanced around at the pile of her wounded pack mates, her wounded mate and her wounded Alpha. She then glanced over at Isaac and Peter, the last wolves left standing along with her. "Kill him." She glared back over at the rookie Alpha. "Kill him, A LOT." She ground out before lunging at him, her claws and canines already bared.

Billy snorted, amused as he simply batted the blonde she wolf away from him. He then grabbed Isaac's arm when the Beta went to punch him and snapped it in half before shoving him aside, too. And when Peter charged for him, he nearly burst out laughing as he sent a hard punch to the idiot, winding him and sending him reeling back onto his ass.

"Enough."

Stiles' eyes widened then, (along with anyone else who was still conscious) when a familiar voice suddenly piped up from the couch.

Billy's eyes narrowed over at the she Alpha as she slowly rose from the couch and turned to face him. "Darcy," He smirked bitterly. "Lovely of you to join the party."

"Sit," Darcy's voice was low and incredibly stern, though, her expression was calm and slightly tired. "Down." She slowly lifted one of her bruised and scratched up arms, pointing over to the couch she stood beside. "Now."

Stiles smirked smugly to himself when he noticed the tiny step the rookie Alpha took back.

Billy's eyes narrowed a little further, almost challengingly now. "You're... You're too weak to take me." He stated, trying to sound confidant as he quietly observed her slightly swaying form.

Darcy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in return. "You really think that?" She challenged right back, her voice still low.

Billy eyed her cautiously before finally doing as he was told. He warily shuffled through the group, ignoring their glares as he went as slowly sat down on one far end of the couch.

Darcy slowly sat back down at the other end of the couch, turning so that she was facing him. "So," She began, her voice now calm and relaxed as she slowly folded her arms over her chest and crossed one leg casually over the other. "How was everyone's summer?" She chirped, glancing around briefly. "MINE was fun." She stated with a little bitter sarcasm laced in her tone as she shot the new Alpha a pointed look. "Saw some fish. Went mad with hunger and the lack of the full moon. Hallicenated a whole bunch. I could go on, but I won't." And now she was glaring at the other Alpha, while her pack where staring between both Alphas in both confusion and anger now.

Billy scoffed. "You deserved worse."

"Because I killed your daddy?" Darcy arched a brow, looking slightly amused when he glared at her. "Only I DIDN'T. And I DID try to tell you that while you were busy offshore dumping me, but I didn't exactly know the whole score then." She ground out, now glaring back at him.

"Wait -- he did WHAT!?" Stiles barked.

"Are you KIDDING me!?" Erica growled as Cora, too glared at him while tending to her bleeding shoulder.

Darcy ignored them both, her glare focussed on Billy as she continued to explain. "Your idiot father killed himself. Actually -- he had your so-called girlfriend; Harley do it for him. Just to make you hate me. And all because he hated my mother after she turned him down."

"Shut up!" Billy snapped.

Darcy smirked slightly to herself when she noticed the rather bummed out expression lingering in his eyes now. She knew that he believed her. Hell, he probably knew before her telling him. And it was enough for her. For now, anyway.

"Even if --" Billy's jaw tightened slightly. "You STILL deserved it."

Darcy arched a brow. "What I deserve, is open to debate." She stated, her voice low and firm again. "But understand that there is a BIG difference between wishing vengeance on someone, and taking it." She smirked slightly. "So, NOW -- the question becomes: what'd YOU deserve?"

Billy gulped silently, his eyes glued to hers for a few moments. He then suddenly sprung to his feet and tried to make a rather desperate run for it.

With what little strength she found she had left, Darcy leapt up onto her feet and grabbed him around the back of the neck before shoving him harshly back into his seat. "Mommy's not finished talking yet!" She snarled, her voice incredibly low, even making the walls tremble slightly and her eyes burning bright red, causing the other Alpha to whimper slightly and shrink back into the couch.

The others simply stared in slight shock, some of them even grinning to themselves -- mainly Peter, Cora and of course, Stiles.

"Cora," Darcy called to her baby sister, her stern, greeny-blue orbs still planted on the cowering Alpha. "Are you okay?"

"No." Cora ground out, glaring over at the male Alpha. "Son of a bitch took a fucking chunk outta me."

Darcy nodded in acknowledgement. "Stiles," She called out, her eyes still glued to Billy's. "How's your arm?"

"Still sore." Stiles replied simply, he, too, glaring at the male Alpha.

Again, Darcy nodded in acknowledgement. "Y'see, Billy, losing family makes you lonely, it makes you angry and I get that. You lost your family, like I lost mine. But also -- just like I did -- you found a new family and you still managed to fuck it up for yourself. But ME?" She leaned down, her gaze darkening as her face hovered right in front of his. "I'm actually grateful for my chance to have another pack; another family. And I'll do anything to keep them safe. ANYTHING... So," Her red burning orbs suddenly returned, distracting him from her grabbing at his throat with clawed fingertips. "I think it's pretty fucking obvious; what you deserve."

Billy's eyes widened in fright as he felt his toes barely touching the floor now. He choked and spluttered heavily, his own eyes burning red and his own clawed hands scratching wildly at her arm. "P-please..."

Darcy arched a brow. "Please..." She scoffed lightly, glaring up at him through angry, red orbs. "Yeah." She nodded. "I imagine you've said that word quite a lot in your time. Seems only right that it should be your last." She snarled loudly, bring her free hand up and slicing through his throat before his eyes could even stutter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy rested her head against his chest and smiled faintly to herself as she felt his heart beating under her ear. "I am now -- you're so warm. Even for a human... It's nice."

"How you feeling?" Cora asked, eyeing her big sister warily.

"Better after killing that idiot." Darcy replied as she sunk back into the couch.

Cora nodded. "More Alpha juice -- ow! Careful!" She hissed, glaring over to her boyfriend -- who was busy cleaning her shoulder wound.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Then stop moving, you lil' fidget." He said, shooting her a "duh" look.

"Mission accomplished, Alpha ma'am!" Scott announced as he waltzed back out of the elevator, his girlfriend following closely beside him.

"What'd you do with him?" Darcy asked, merely out of curiosity.

"Chris chopped him up, then set him alight." Scott stated. "It was gross." He added, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Allison rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smirking. "Yeah. We figured it was best to make sure he stays dead."

"Yeah," Stiles scoffed loudly. "Wouldn't want another douche rising from beyond the grave." He snarked, clearly referring to a certain Peter Hale.

Cora snorted loudly in amusement at that, where as Darcy merely smirked.

"So, we're good now -- right?" Scott asked. "We can all go home and finally get some sleep?" He added, looking all too hopefully at his Alpha.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah. Fine." She glanced at the huntress, shooting her a small, but grateful smile. "And thanks. Tell Chris I owe him one."

Allison grinned. "Will do. And no problem. Night all! Come on, you." She chirped before grabbing her boyfriend by his shirt and dragging him back towards the elevator.

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Cora asked, eyeing her big sister with a little concern again.

Darcy nodded again, even managing to shoot her baby sister a reassuring smile. "Yeah. Go get some rest. You need to heal up that wound as soon as possible. Alpha bites can be real nasty."

Cora nodded. "Yeah." She scowled angrily down at her bloody shoulder.

"Come on, honey-bun." Isaac chimed in a sing-song voice, clearly teasing his mate. He chuckled when she glared up at him. "C'mon, grumpy, let's go home..."

...Darcy arched a brow over at the last man standing, the same man that always seem to be the last to leave her lately. "What're you still doing here?"

And Stiles smiled, because he knew she hadn't meant to sound as cold as she did, he knew that because he saw the curious expression lingering in her orbs. "I, uh, I dunno." And damn, even he felt his heart flutter at that stupid, little lie. Why did he even ever bother trying to lie to a werewolf? It never worked. Especially not on this particular werewolf, it seemed.

Darcy's arched brow rose a little further and it was clear in her own expression that she knew he was lying to her.

Stiles sighed loudly in defeat. "I just, I know you're not really okay." He said, his voice low and wary, as if he thought she would pummel him into the floor at any moment. "I don't really know how -- maybe it's the spark in me or whatever or maybe because we're pack -- but I feel you, all of you."

Darcy nodded, as if pleased with him coming clean. "C'mere," She reached out a hand, motioning to come closer.

Stiles frowned, slightly confused and surprised, but did as he was told anyway. Slowly, he shuffled forward, placing his hand in hers and let her pull him gently down to sit on the couch beside her. He arched a surprised brow to himself when she shuffled up the couch until she placed herself snugly into his left side. His heart raced slightly as she grabbed one of his arms and wrapped his around the back of her shoulders. "Shit, you're freezing. You're NEVER cold. Are you okay?" He frowned, slightly concerned again.

Darcy rested her head against his chest and smiled faintly to herself as she felt his heart beating under her ear. "I am now -- you're so warm. Even for a human... It's nice."

Stiles knew he was grinning like a complete fool, but he really didn't care right now. "Yeah?" He croaked, resting his cheek lightly against the top of her head. And even if she noticed -- which the werewolf probably did -- he couldn't help sticking his nose into her thick, black locks, inhaling deeply, but as quietly as he could. His eyes fluttered briefly at the almost mouthwatering scent and in that moment he really did wish that his senses were as heightened as a werewolf's.

Darcy's smiled widened slightly. "Yeah." She mumbled back as she allowed her eyes to close and a quiet, but content sigh to escape passed her lips.

Stiles really didn't want to ruin the moment -- whatever the moment was between them -- but he still wanted answers. "What happened?" He asked, his voice slightly wary.

Darcy sighed tiredly. "I told you what happened." She replied simply, her voice calm.

Stiles nodded lightly. "You did. But you didn't give too much detail." He pointed out.

Darcy frowned slightly to herself. "Billy chained me up and stuffed me inside metal coffin before offshore dumping me over in Orange County."

"Orange County!? That's miles away!" Stiles lifted his head, now glancing down at her in outrage.

Darcy scoffed lightly as she lifted her head to face him. "Yeah, I know. I ran all the way back Beacon Hills. I don't even remember how the hell I got out of the coffin."

Stiles frowned, looking slightly confused at that. "What DO you remember?"

Darcy gave a lazy shrug. "Not much before Scott found me. Just a lot of running, passing out, and more running."

Stiles nodded, forcing himself to calm down. For now, anyway. And just for her sake. He didn't want to piss her off or worse; upset her. "Well, you're okay now. That's all that matters."

Darcy smiled slightly and leaned forward, giving a quick, but sweet kiss to the human's lips. "Thank you, Stiles." She mumbled, mentally cursing herself like a sailor as she felt her cheeks burn lightly.

"Uh, f-for what?" Stiles stumbled over his words, his eyes practically bulging out of his head right now.

Darcy gave another lazy shrug, seeming slightly reluctant to respond. "You just, you always seem to know just what to say. And sometimes it actually makes feel like things are gonna be okay. Not a lot of people have ever made me feel that way. Just my mother, in fact. Oh, and Laura... She always knew what to do." She bit her bottom lip, looking slightly nervous, her cheeks flushing all the more. "Like you -- you always figure things out whenever us superfreaks can't." She added with a small smirk.

Stiles chuckled at that. And really, he could feel his chest aching as much as his throat at her rather touching words. Like serious, he had never heard her talk that much in one go, let alone share her deepest thoughts or emotions to anyone. "Yeah. I guess I get that quality from my mom, 'cause my dad isn't really much of a talker. Kinda like you, actually." He shot her a teasing grin.

Darcy rolled her eyes, though, she couldn't help smirking, just a little.

"So," Stiles chirped. "Now that we've killed pretty much everyone who's annoyed us lately -- how 'bout we actually take that trip to Vegas? Like, some time real soon?" He added that last part with a small grin and a hopeful look in his large, whisky-doe orbs.

Darcy chuckled lightly. "OR," She slowly leaned closer, glancing up at him through her thick lashes. "You and I could take a trip of our own instead. I got some business to take care of up in L.A. But it'll only take an hour or so. And after that, we can do whatever we want. If you want?" She suggested, arching a brow as she waited for his reply.

Stiles arched a brow, looking somewhat shocked. "What -- y'mean like, just the two of us? Without the pack?" He mumbled, frozen in place by this point, his heart racing as she placed one her hands lightly over the wild organ.

Darcy smiled at him as she felt his heart thudding harshly under her hand. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'" She chuckled lightly.

"Um, yeah. I... Yeah." Stiles simply nodded, unable to focus much at the thought of the two of them alone, for a long period of time. Did this mean what he thought it meant? Were his fantasies finally going to come true? Fuck, did he hope so.

Darcy smirked, looking rather smug and proud of herself -- typical she wolf, Stiles thought. "Good." She nodded her approval before pulling away from him altogether and slowly rising from the couch.

Stiles watched her as she sauntered towards the spiral staircase, his brain barely functioning right now, his gaze flickering from the back of her head to her incredibly tight backside. 'Oh, someone just kill me. Seriously.' He thought miserably.

Darcy paused at the bottom of the stairs and slowly turned to face him. "Well?" She arched a brow, a small smile lingering at the corners of her lips. "Are you coming or not?"

"W --" Stiles' eyes widened again. "What?"

Darcy's smile only widened. "Don't worry -- you're not about to get lucky." She chuckled lightly when she saw him blushing deeply again. "Not yet, anyway." She mumbled just loud enough before turning back around and slowly sauntering up the spiral staircase.

"W --" Stiles' eyes widened even more if that were possible as he practically fell of the couch before stalking after her. "WHAT!?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wow! YOU were drinking alcohol!? No!" Lydia chirped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Seriously, if you didn't have that whole werewolf metabolism thing going on for you, you'd be a fricking alcoholic, my friend."

1 WEEK LATER...

"Hey!" Allison chirped as she bounded out of the elevator, her father following closely behind her. "Don't mind us -- just here to pick up a few extra things." She explained quickly as she rushed over to the couch and pulled out her small trunk (filled with spare weapons).

"Yeah, we'll be outta your fur in a moment." Chris said as he knelt down to inspect the contents of the trunk.

"Yeah, no problem." Darcy waved them off quickly before turning to glare back at her ever annoying uncle. "And again; no."

"Why?" Peter asked, cocking a brow.

"No." Darcy repeated, shooting him a pointed look.

"Why?" Peter repeated, mimicking her expression.

Darcy's eyes narrowed even further. "I said; no. End of." She huffed out before stalking towards the large kitchenette.

"And I said; why?" Peter stated as he followed after her. "Now, I'll meet you halfway here and say; why no?"

"Because I didn't invite you, that's why. Doesn't that tell you something?" Darcy shot him another pointed look as she grabbed a beer from the fridge and cracked it open.

"Well, that's why I'm asking you now." Peter stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which, to him, it really was. "Doesn't THAT tell YOU something?"

Darcy merely glared at him as she responded. "How can I make this any clearer for you? I. Do. Not. Want. You. To. Come. End. Of." She grunted out before twisting the cap off her beer bottle and taking a few large gulps.

Peter growled in annoyance. "But it's Vegas!" He stated, as if it were supposed to mean something to her. "I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Vegas!"

"Then take a train." Darcy muttered before stalking over to the couch and perching on one of the arms as the hunters continued to sort through their little weapons.

Peter marched after her. "I won't bother you. In fact, you won't see me for the entire duration. I promise." He was almost begging now. It was quite a sight to behold. A pathetic, yet still amusing one.

"Still, no." Darcy said, taking another few gulps of her beer.

Peter glared at his so-called niece. "Feel free to chime in at any time, by the way." He barked over at the hunters.

"I really would, I just don't want to." Chris stated with a small smirk.

Allison chuckled. "Anyway, we have another case to deal with right now." She explained while grabbing a couple of extra daggers and slipping them into her pockets.

Darcy seemed to perk up slightly at this. "Need any back-up?"

"Nah, it's all under control. Scott and Erica are gonna meet us there. But thanks." Allison replied with a grateful smile.

"Yeah, it's just some old lady out in Hancock Park -- says she's hearing spooky noises in her drainpipes." Chris explained. "And frankly, we don't know whether to take weapons or just a couple of plungers." He joked with a small, but clearly amused smirk.

Darcy smirked slightly, too. "Still, be careful. And call me if you do run into any trouble."

"Yeah, no worries there, Captain." Allison saluted the Alpha with two fingers.

Darcy smirked, rolling her eyes.

"So, Vegas, huh?" Chris asked, grinning over at the she wolf with a rather surprised look.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah. Why not?" She chirped back all too casually.

Allison grinned widely, her eyes lit up in excitement. "You do know that Stiles tells Scott everything and then Scott tells ME everything -- right?"

Darcy merely rolled her eyes. Of course she knew that. And she didn't really care, either.

"Am I missing something here?" Chris asked, looking slightly confused now.

Peter scoffed, answering before either of the girls could. "My so-called niece is taking Stiles to Vegas, instead of her dear old uncle or even her baby sister." He stated pointedly, glaring pathetically over at her.

Darcy rolled her eyes again. "You're annoying. That's why you're not coming. So suck it up." She grunted. "And besides, Cora's fine with it. Besides, she's going on that road-trip across Mexico with Isaac, Erica and Boyd next month, so even if she did have a problem; she can suck it, too." She added with a casual shrug.

"What're YOU complaining for, anyway?" Allison scowled at the pouting Beta. "You're out, literally every night, partying your furry, little socks off on the account of this new job of yours." She added pointedly.

Peter merely huffed, crossing his arms over his chest...

...The next day was a Saturday -- the day that most of the pack were free from their normal jobs -- and also usually the day that most of the pack were gathered at Darcy's loft -- what they called their headquarters. Today, their work phones were all ringing off the fricking hook, and it seemed that it was another busy day in the supernatural world.

Lydia blinked, finding herself actually slightly speechless for once. "I'm sorry, ma'am, did you say; 'snakes'?" She asked into the phone, keeping her tone polite and professional. Her eyes widened slightly as she began to quickly jot down the details on her notepad. "Okay. And they -- I'm sorry, they came out of your what?"

Isaac slowly turned around, a phone pressed against his own ear as he shot the redhead a slightly horrified look.

"Don't ask." Lydia mouthed silently back, shaking her head in utter dismay. "Okay, honey, I need you to slow down... Okay, did they get up there themselves or is it, y'know, part of a thing...?" She gave a nervous, little chuckle. "No, no, ma'am, I'm not judging you, I swear... Yes, okay... Uh-huh. One second," She pulled the phone down from her ear and pressed it to her chest as she glanced over at Darcy. "Do we fight snakes?"

"Are they demon snakes?" Darcy asked curiously after finally lifting her nose up from out of her continuous piles of file work.

"Uh, I don't think so." Lydia stated, biting her bottom lip. "I think this lady's just having some sort of mental breakdown here. Like, seriously."

"Maybe." Scott nodded. "But it's still worth checking out, at least."

Darcy nodded. "Yeah. Good... Thanks, Scott." She added with a smirk.

Scott expression dropped instantly as he glared at his Alpha, clearly getting the hint. "Ugh. Fine." He grumbled before slinking slowly towards the elevator.

Darcy arched a brow over at Beta's so-called best friend. when he chuckled in amusement. "You wanna join him?" She threatened, though, still smirking.

Stiles closed his mouth instantly, his eyes widening as he shook his head in response.

Darcy's smirk widened as she simply went back to her file work.

"Okay, ma'am, someone is on their way out to you as we speak." Lydia chirped brightly. "No problem... Okay... Yes, okay..."

"Holy shit!" Isaac exclaimed as his eyes landed on his fellow pack mates waltzing out of the elevator with some sort of thick, bright green sludge covering them both from head to toe as well as an angry glare slapped across both their faces.

"Whoa! What happened to YOU two?" Stiles chortled, biting his bottom lip to keep him from bursting out laughing at the rather entertaining sight.

Erica's glare bounced between the two males. "What does it LOOK like!?" She barked.

Darcy arched a brow, also hiding her amusement, though, managing to do so a lot better than the boys.

"Uhhhh..." Stiles didn't know whether to answer the angry, blonde she wolf or not. He didn't know whether they would be his last words or not.

Erica's eyes narrowed even further at him. "Do NOT answer that!" She snapped. "Darcy, can I PLEASE take a shower?" She pouted over at her Alpha.

Darcy rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Just make sure you both clean it up afterwards." She warned.

Boyd nodded, shooting her a grateful look. "Thanks. We will."

"Ugh! This shit fucking stinks!" Erica growled, storming off towards the spiral staircase and storming up them.

"So, what happened?" Cora piped up, looking just as amused as the boys.

"Fungus demon." Boyd stated simply. "It was gross. Both before AND after we killed it." He added before shuffling after his girlfriend.

Stiles wrinkled his face in disgust, along with Isaac and Cora.

"Ha! Ethan once made out with a fungus demon." Aiden announced with a highly amused smirk.

"You asshole! You said you'd never --" Ethan gritted his teeth, shooting his so-called brother a glare before facing the rest of the pack -- who were all slightly disgusted or also amused. "It was a one time thing and I was really, REALLY drunk."

"Wow! YOU were drinking alcohol!? No!" Lydia chirped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Seriously, if you didn't have that whole werewolf metabolism thing going on for you, you'd be a fricking alcoholic, my friend."

Stiles snorted in amusement, some of the others chuckling and grinning, too. Whereas, Ethan, of course, shot the redhead his best death glare. Although, it seemed that she was less than impressed.

"Hey, Darcy," Cora and her mate stalked over to their Alpha as the others went back to busying themselves with what they were doing before. "Isaac and I are gonna go deal with that rouge Omega case." She explained.

"Yeah." Isaac smirked cockily. "It shouldn't take too long."

Darcy nodded. "Be careful. And keep both your phones on."

"Yeah, yeah." Cora rolled her eyes, having heard the little speech many times before. "Come on, Jew-fro, let's go." She chirped affectionately to her other half, then proceeding to give his backside a firm spank.

"Cora! Not here!" Isaac practically squealed, feeling his dick twitching considerably at the sudden, sharp contact, the stinging sensation in his butt cheeks tingling slightly and only making things worse.

"Ugh." Darcy wrinkled her face in disgust. "Please leave. BOTH of you." She retorted before averting her scarred orbs back down to her paperwork.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Where's Stiles today?" Darcy asked, arching a brow and shooting a curious look right back. Stiles was never absent and to boot, he was annoyingly punctual, too. Which only made the she wolf feel a little concerned.

Darcy's gaze slowly drifted around her crowded loft, her eyes taking in each one of her pack members who were rushing around either on their phones or writing up their latest file work for their supernatural cases. The Alpha frowned when she noticed one of her pack members were missing. A most unusual suspect, indeed. Feeling slightly troubled by this, she stalked over to her kitchenette. "Scott,"

"'Sup, boss-lady?" Scott chimed, glancing his coffee and paperwork and shooting her a curious look.

"Where's Stiles today?" Darcy asked, arching a brow and shooting a curious look right back. Stiles was never absent and to boot, he was annoyingly punctual, too. Which only made the she wolf feel a little concerned.

Scott shrugged. "He said he's got something important to do today. I asked him about it, but he just told me not to worry." He frowned slightly. "Which kinda only makes me worry all the more. He's been acting kinda weird these last couple of days. Well, weird for Stiles, anyway."

Darcy's frown only deepened. "Call me, if you need me." She said before stalking towards the elevator, grabbing her black, leather jacket and slipping it on along the way.

"Where are you?" Scott asked -- like he even needed to. He rolled his eyes, smirking knowingly to himself.

"I'm gonna check on him. Something feels off." Darcy explained simply before closing the metal partition and pressing the 'down' button.

"Where's she going?" Isaac asked, arching a brow as he watched after his Alpha with curiosity.

"Where'd you think?" Scott retorted with an amused chuckle.

"You think she actually likes Stiles?" Isaac asked, looking even more intrigued by this point.

"Well, I don't know if I'd go that far," Scott smirked. "But there's definitely something there. She's got a soft spot for him, that's for sure."

Isaac snorted. "Y'know Stilinski's pretty fucking stupid for a guy who got a stupid bunch of degrees." He huffed out.

Scott merely smirked, sensing a little jealously there. "Awh, poor, stupid, degreeless Isaac."

"Fuck you." Isaac growled.

"Excuse me?" Cora piped up, arching a brow over at her mate.

Isaac smiled sheepishly.

Scott snorted...

...Darcy sighed tiredly as she hopped gracefully out of her Camaro, locking it before heading across the street towards Stiles small apartment building. Feeling lazy this evening, she decided to take the elevator to the fifth floor. She sauntered slowly out and down the narrow and dimly lit hallway until she reached his door. She knocked thrice, loudly and waited as patiently as possible. And thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long.

The door slowly opened, Stiles slowly then revealing himself. His white t-shirt was crinkled, as were his brow cargo shorts, his socks bunched up around his ankles. His hair was messed up, pointing up in every direction, his skin was slightly pale, his eyes also slightly bloodshot, his lips slightly dry and also pale and there were dark, tired-looking, purple bags underneath both his eyes.

Darcy's eyes widened slightly at the mere sight of him, but she otherwise managed to stay composed.

"Uh, hey, Darcy," Stiles mumbled, his voice barely audible, though, he knew she could hear him clearly enough. "Sorry, I was meant to text Scott to let you guys know I'm, uh, taking a personal day, I guess."

"It's fine." Darcy said, her voice calm, though, her expression rather concerned now. She could smell it all over him -- he practically reeked of pain and misery right now -- and it ached her chest in ways that made her want to curse out loud. Nonetheless, somehow, once again, she managed to keep herself otherwise composed. Though, there was no doubt in her mind here anymore; something was clearly wrong, something that put that unbearable heartbreaking, slightly lost look in his bright whiskey orbs. And that did not work for her. Not one little bit. "Can I come in?" She asked, eyeing him carefully.

A brief expression of surprise flashed through his exhausted looking gaze. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure." He mumbled, his voice still low and slightly hoarse (no doubt from crying -- but why?) as he slowly shuffled aside, opening the door just wide enough for the slender (though incredibly toned, like, holy hell!) she wolf to slip silently through.

Darcy slowly sauntered through the narrow hallway and into the small, but cosy and nicely lived in living room. And she'd always been rather amused over how clean and precise he was about his things, or literally everything. Although, she still found it kind of cute, too. Ugh.

"So, uh, how come you're here? THAT boring at the office today, huh?" Stiles cracked a small, but clearly forced smile as he slowly shuffled passed her and plopped lazily back down at one end of his couch.

Darcy frowned slightly, but answered anyway. "Not much going on, no." She stated honestly with a casual shrug before stalking over and sitting beside him. "So," She began, here voice slightly softer than usual, but it worked by gaining his full attention -- which totally made her want to smile, although, somehow, she managed to stay focussed on him; on his painfully blatant misery. "What's wrong?" She asked, arching an expectant brow and waiting patiently -- something she did not like doing.

As predicted, Stiles quickly averted his gaze from hers and gulped silently before forcing himself answer. "Nothing. I'm just tired." He mentally cursed himself for answer a little too quickly. Although, he figured that she could already sense his misery with that freaky werewolf nose of hers.

Darcy scowled at him, shooting him an obvious look of disbelief. "Stiles," She said, her voice firm, though, still soft. "Don't lie to me."

"Oh, you picked up on that, huh?" Stiles chirped with a forced chuckled.

Darcy's scowl only deepened. She slowly reached across the small space in between them, placing her hand over one of his own. "Stiles," She said, her tone a little softer. "You can talk to me."

Without a second thought, Stiles felt his hand flip over and lace his fingers tightly with her own. Though, it was more for comfort rather than anything else right now. He just needed someone to be there for him right now. And he would have called Scott, but he knew that Scott would probably react even worse to the news than he had. He slowly lifted his gaze back up to hers, silently gulping again as he stared rather helplessly at her. "It's my dad." He croaked, forcing himself to hold her gaze.

Darcy heart raced slightly. "What about your dad? Is he okay?" She asked, her eyes slightly widened in horror.

Stiles nodded limply. "He's fine... Well, he's not fine, but he's still alive, is what I mean."

Darcy quickly managed to calm herself down, nodding in response. "What'd you mean he's not fine? What happened?" She asked warily, frowning slightly.

Stiles sighed tiredly before explaining. "For the last 6 months, he's been seeing a doctor and having blood tests done on him. And this morning, he finally revealed all to me..." He gulped silently once again, feeling his eyes beginning to well up quickly. "He said the doctor told him that one or both of his kidneys may be failing him. They don't know for sure yet, but it's a 60 percent chance, so it doesn't really look good..."

Darcy sat frozen in her place for a few moments, her slightly widened eyes watching as his own usually bright orbs drowned in tears that finally rolled slowly and silently down his cheeks.

Stiles huffed out a chuckle, shaking his head limply. "That's it... Game over..." He croaked, his throat clenching painfully. "I'm gonna end up as a lonely and bitterly, old orphan."

"Stiles," Darcy felt her own throat clench unbearable as she tried to find the right words to say. Or any words at all.

"I just... It's not fair..." Stiles mumbled miserably. "First my mom and now..." He sighed loudly. "I don't know how the fuck I'm supposed to live in this stupid world if THESE are the kinda sucky options I'm thrown. And I don't know what the fuck I ever did to deserve this bullshit."

Darcy gulped silently this time, willing herself not to cry, too, and somehow, she seemed to managed it. Though, just about. Of course, she understood every word; understood his pain; that kind of pain; the pain of having your family torn away from you and feeling like it was your fault. Although, in her case, she knew that it was HER fault. KATE was her fault. And always would be.

Stiles finally seemed to snap out of his little outburst. "Sorry." He mumbled, shooting her a small, sheepish smile. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I just needed to vent. And I didn't really wanna tell Scott, 'cause he'd probably react worse than anyone."

Darcy nodded, shooting him an understanding look. "It's fine." She assured him with a small smile. "And you need to stop being so hard on yourself. It's not healthy." She scalded slightly. "And you need to keep yourself healthy, for your father."

Stiles simply gave another limp nod. He let out another tired sigh, his eyes slowly drifting down to their hands still clasped tightly together. The corners of his lips twitched slightly upwards as he moved his gaze back to her face. Her God, damn perfect face. Ugh.

And Darcy was so thankful that he couldn't hear her stupid, girly heart flutter at the rather intense look he was suddenly giving him. And somewhere, way, WAY in the back of her mind, she mentally cursed herself when he slowly began to lean forward and she made no move to back away. And then his lips were over hers, slightly hesitant, though, only for a split second. And before she could really even begin to stop herself, her arms were moving of their own accord, wrapping firmly around the back of his neck and pulling him in; pulling him closer; as close as God, damn possible.

Stiles' heart raced and he really didn't care if she was listening to it. He quickly reached out, placing his hands over her hips and pulled her forward until she was straddling his lap without a second thought.

And Darcy knew that she probably should have taken control of the situation before it went too far, but she was a LITTLE too distracted by his wandering hands, sliding down her waist and hesitantly over her backside. She tightened her arms around the back of his neck, pulling him even closer, if that was even fricking possible. She sighed loudly, almost completely melting against him when she felt his hands give her ass cheeks a gentle squeeze.

Stiles' heart jack-hammered against his chest as he slid his hands slowly and purposefully up her back, under her jacket and her shirt. He wanted to smile as his fingers grazed her flesh, causing her skin to erupt into goosepimples. However, he was a LITTLE too distracted by her shivering at his touch before feeling the flicker of her tongue against his bottom lip. And really, it wasn't his fault when he couldn't help letting out a quiet groan as he felt her fingers tangle through his short, brow tufts of hairs, her sharp fingernails scratching lightly over his scalp. He gave her bottom lip a light nip before pulling away altogether and hastily moving his mouth to her neck instead.

Darcy's heart began to race even faster, her skin crawling as deliciously as his fingers felt rubbing small circles into her back, as delicious as his lips felt on her flesh. "Fuck." She hissed under her breath (rather appropriately) as her hands flew up to grip at his (surprisingly broad) shoulders.

Stiles merely hummed lowly in response as continued to suck a hickie into her skin -- even if (disappointingly) it would heal up and disappear in a matter of minutes. And okay, so he read up on how werewolves were really big on the whole scent marking and neck biting thing -- so fricking what!? It seemed to be working like a fricking charm as he felt her entire body shiver against his again.

"Stiles..." Darcy whispered, trailing off and gasping lightly when she felt him bite darn rather hard on the spot just below her right ear.

"You're skin is SO fucking soft." Stiles breathed heavily against her ear before moving his lips back to hers, his hands sliding slowly up and down her back, just feeling her skin against his.

And with one last kiss (and a pathetic whine from the wolf within her) Darcy managed to finally find her last shred of self-control. "Stiles, stop." She whispered (also pathetically) as she pulled away.

"Why?" Stiles whispered back, shooting her a (also pathetic) expression.

'Yeah -- why?' Darcy sighed quietly in defeat, slowly leaning forward, pressing a quick, but sweet kiss to his lips and then gently resting her forehead against his own. "Because," She shot him a pointed look, while trying not to smile at the utterly adorable look of disappointment still lingering on his face. "You're just upset about your dad. And I don't wanna take advantage of that."

Stiles stared blankly back at her for a few seconds. "Oh... Yeah... Right..." He mumbled, now blushing slightly, though, looking slightly surprised, as well. "So..." He gulped silently, forcing himself to keep eye contact with the she wolf. "It's not just 'cause you don't wanna... Y'know?" And now he was blushing even fricking more. Ugh. "Like, I mean, I don't, uh, I don't both annoy and repulse you THAT much..." He chuckled nervously, just wishing that he would shut the fuck up for once. "Do I?" And he couldn't help asking, okay? He needed to know, because he was kind of confused right now. What with the kissing and then back to the constant glaring. Darcy was one confusing lady, alright.

Darcy couldn't help chuckling lightly. "Repulse me? No. God, help me -- I actually think you're kinda cute sometimes. And annoy me? Yes, definitely; constantly. Although, you're STILL not as annoying as Peter." She shot him a small, but reassuring smile.

Stiles stared blankly back up at her for a few seconds again before responding. "You think I'm cute?" He asked with the corners of his lips twitching slightly. 'Well, it's a start.' He thought quite happily. Because for Darcy, he would probably wait for-fricking-ever. Hell, he had already waited almost a decade. So what did a lifetime mean to him? Not a damn thing, that's what.

Darcy chuckle, shaking her head lightly. "That's all you took from that?" She asked, arching a brow, while wearing a small, but amused smirk.

Stiles stare back at her with a slightly baffled look. "Well, yeah..." He mumbled -- as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

Darcy simply rolled her eyes, though, she couldn't help smirking still.

"So, uh, I guess Vegas is off the table for now..." Stiles mumbled, looking slightly beat again. Although, his heart was still racing slightly at their rather compromising position.

Darcy simply nodded, knowing he wanted to say more.

"But how about a second date?" Stiles asked, shooting her (probably a little too) hopeful expression.

Darcy smiled. "Sure thing, cowboy. You can surprise me again."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm not the kinda girl that takes disappointment lightly..." She leaned closer, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Especially not lying down..."

Darcy had stayed with Stiles that night, at his apartment, the two of them just sitting back in his living room, talking about anything and everything. And while the she wolf kept telling herself that it was only to comfort her fellow pack mate, she couldn't help wondering if this was what it would always be like if she were ever to just give in and be with him. Because if it was, then she was beginning to think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. And somewhere in between the early hours of the morning, Darcy found watching over her human (in a totally not creepy way) as he finally found himself some shut-eye.

Stiles didn't remember even being tired as he talked with Darcy, let alone even remember slipping off into slumber land. But as he slowly cracked his eyes open, his gaze was immediately met with her own. "Oh, shit. Sorry." He mumbled tiredly as he slowly pulled himself back up into a sitting position on the couch. He felt slightly embarrassed and rather bad for just falling asleep on her. 'Wow, I'm such a great host. No wonder I never hold any parties here.' He thought sarcastically.

"It's fine. You needed it." Darcy shot him a reassuring look.

Stiles shot her a grateful look in return as he leaned back into the couch. "How long was I out for?" He asked, merely out of curiosity.

Darcy gave a casual shrug as she answered. "Only about an hour and a half." She frowned slightly. "I should go. You need to rest properly." She stated as she slowly rose from her perch on the arm of the couch.

"Yeah, but... You don't have to go..." Stiles mumbled, his cheeks flushing lightly as he tried not to look as disappointed as he felt right now.

Darcy smiled lightly, unable to help herself. "Yeah, I really do. I need you to stay nice and healthy... And by the way, you better figure something out for our second date before I see you next." She aired casually as she stalked closer, now standing in front of him, towering over his place still seated in the middle of the couch. "'Cause," She purred lightly, slowly bending down so that her face was hovering barely an inch above his own. "I'm not the kinda girl that takes disappointment lightly..." She leaned closer, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Especially not lying down..." She concluded before standing up and turning around, smirking smugly to herself as she made a swift exit for his apartment.

Stiles stared after her, eyes fully widened, heart racing hard and fast (and he mostly certainly did not have a hard on right now). "Holy fucking shitballs..."

2 DAYS LATER...

Scott's eyes widened. "What!? She did NOT say that! No fucking way did she say THAT, dude!" He scoffed loudly, a look of pure disbelief on his face.

"Dude," Stiles shot him a serious look in return. "I swear to fucking God, she totally said all of that. Every sexy, little syllable."

Scott wrinkled his nose slightly.

Stiles smirked in amusement. "Dude, seriously, listen to my heartbeat right now."

Scott scoffed again. "I can't. It makes no difference when it's racing out of excitement all the damn time!" He stated, shooting his hyperactive best friend a pointed look.

Stiles grinned sheepishly. "Right. Sorry... But still, I swear, I'm not lying."

"He's really not, y'know." Isaac piped up as he entered Scott and Allison's apartment living room with another bottle of beer in his hand.

"What? How do YOU know?" Scott asked, narrowing his eyes over at the other Beta.

"Cora told me." Isaac explained simply, shooting him a "duh" expression.

Again, Scott scoffed. "Yeah, right! Like Darcy ever does the whole girly talk thing... With anyone."

Isaac nodded. "True. She doesn't." He agreed as he plopped down into the loveseat. "But you know how stubborn Cora is."

"Y'mean 'annoying', right?" Stiles chirped, grinning in amusement.

Isaac glared back at him. "Pff. YOU'RE one to talk."

Stiles merely rolled his eyes, still looking fairly amused and smug with himself, much to the curly-haired Beta's "annoyance".

"Yeah, but Stiles is annoyingly loveable and Cora's just scary." Scott stated.

"Exactly." Stiles nodded.

Isaac proceeded to then glare at the both of them; his so-called friends and pack brothers.

"Kinda like Darcy." Scott concluded.

"Hey!" Stiles barked, now also glaring at his so-called best friend.

And now, it was Isaac's turn to grin in amusement. "Pff. What're you talking about? Darcy's WAY worse."

Scott chuckled, wearing his usual goofy (annoyingly adorable) grin.

Stiles then proceeded to glare at both of the werewolves. "Well, you can BOTH just suck my dong." He grumbled before turning his gaze away from them and pulling his phone out instead.

"Ugh. No. No, thank you." Isaac grunted back, wrinkling his face in disgust. "I'm strictly a vageterian. Why don't you ask Darcy to oblige you there?" He added with a wicked grin.

Scott rolled his eyes, though, he really could help burst out laughing at that. "Didn't we already have this conversation once before?" He asked, wearing a teasing smirk.

Stiles shot the curly-headed fuck a dark glare. "I will skin your furry werewolf ass alive." He grumbled.

Isaac merely rolled his eyes at that little threat. "Please." He scoffed, then took a large sip of his beer. "Anyway, I'm just saying -- I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

To which, Stiles continued to glare dangerously at him.

Scott smirked. "So, this second date of yours -- where you taking her? And when?" He asked, looking all too intrigued for the human's liking.

Stiles huffed loudly. "No fucking clue, dude. I'm in big trouble." He stated helplessly.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Come on, you have an I.Q of a hundred and ten -- I'm pretty sure you can figure this out."

"A hundred and thirteen, actually." Stiles corrected with a small, but clearly smug smirk -- especially when Isaac glared at him.

"Yeah, whatever." Scott rolled his eyes playfully. "But Lydia's STILL smarter than you."

"Yeah. How's it feel to be beaten by a girl?" Isaac smirked smugly.

Scott scoffed loudly, grinning wickedly as he glanced over at his best friend. "Please. He enjoys being beaten up and shoved around by woman."

"Well, that explains why he likes little Red even though she's always pretended like she doesn't already know." Isaac noted, unable to help smirking in amusement.

Stiles glared at him. "Dickwad." He murmured, knowing full well the curly-headed fuck could hear him loud and clear.

Scott rolled his eyes at the bickering two. "I was actually talking about Darcy." He stated, shooting the other Beta a pointed look.

Isaac rolled his eyes, but sighed in defeat. "Fine. Sorry, Stiles. I didn't mean anything by it, I was just kidding around." He whined unenthusiastically before taking another large gulp of his beer.

"Yeah, whatever, dude." Stiles rolled his own eyes as he (not-so) graciously accepted that half-assed attempt at an apology. It wasn't that he didn't like Isaac, he did, kind of. Isaac just annoyed him a little bit sometimes. And maybe some part of that stemmed from the slight jealously he held over the strong bond he and Scott had formed, and so quickly.

"Well," Scott piped up, moving the conversation quickly along, for all of their sakes. "Ethan's got love at some new nigh club opening this Friday on South Market Street. He invited all of us; got us all V.I.P passes and told me to tell you and Allison. And he also said that he wasn't asking any of us, that we're all going, whether we like it or not." He concluded with a grin.

Stiles nodded, a thoughtful expression planted across his face. "Yeah, sounds like fun... I guess it could be a fun second date."

Scott's grin only widened. "That's what I was going for, yeah."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No. I'm not." Stiles cut in, shooting her a stern look. "Not anymore." There was just no way in Hell he was going to let her even thin about playing the Age Card. No fucking way in Hell. Ever. "If you like me," He laced his fingers through hers and gripped her hand tightly, not wanting to think about ever having to let go again. "Then what's the real problem for you here?" He asked, glancing intensely at her as he waited as patiently as he possibly could for her to answer.

Although she loved Boyd with all her heart, there would always be a little part of her that would always adore and love Stiles, too.

"No, thanks." Stiles shot her a small, but grateful smile. "You guys go have fun. I'm gonna wait for Darcy."

Erica shot him a sly smirk, but otherwise said nothing. She simply nodded in response before sauntering off towards the bar.

Boyd sent the two remaining boys a "see ya later" nod before silently following after his girlfriend...

...Cora smiled excitedly as she stood just inside the entrance of the night club. "See? It's not THAT bad. And who knows? You might actually enjoy yourself tonight..."

Darcy merely rolled her eyes in response. "Go find Isaac and leave me alone. Annoying, little, furry brat." She mumbled, smirking smugly.

Cora glared at her so-called big sister before huffing and stalking off into the crowds.

Darcy chuckled quietly to herself, staring after her baby sister with an amused expression. She glanced around the busy building, hoping to spot Stiles -- seeing as there was no way in hell (what with all the music and the many, many heartbeats) that she was going to scope him out with her sensitive hearing. She glared to herself in annoyance after a few moments, failing to spot him at all. She sighed quietly in defeat, quickly glancing around before closing her eyes. Slowly, she opened them, her burning, red gaze settling back onto the crowd. And it was almost instant when her gaze quickly landed the faint white glow of a familiar form in the nearby distance. Her eyes widened slightly, not knowing what the hell she was looking at as she watched the thin, white outlining and faintly glowing aura surrounding him...

...Stiles heart raced as he spotted Cora stalking towards him and Isaac, his gaze instantly darting around to find the eldest Hale sibling.

"Hey! There she is! My girl's finally here!" Isaac chirped, grinning from ear to ear as he immediately wrapped his arms around his mate's waist.

Cora rolled her eyes playfully and gave him a quick, but sweet kiss.

"Is Darcy here?" Stiles asked, unable to contain himself any longer.

Cora smirked in amusement to herself before slowly turning around to face him. "Yeah. She's around here somewhere. I left her ass at the front door."

Stiles rolled his eyes, but felt a little a relief wash over him.

"Dance with me? Pretty please?" Isaac shot her the best pout he could.

Cora smirked and nodded before dragging him off, purposely leaving the human stranded all alone. For now, anyway.

Stiles glared after the couple, but that was only until he felt someone lightly tap the back of his shoulder. He jumped slightly in surprise, immediately swirling around to see just the person he had been waiting for. "Darcy," His gaze flew briefly to the bottles of beer in each of her hands to the slim-fitted, knee-length, low-cut, red cocktail dress she was wearing, to her long, muscled, yet shapely legs, to her shiny, black, high-heeled Pumps and then up to her face. Her God, damn pretty face -- which was simply covered with black eyeliner, shiny, clear lipgloss. "Wow... I, uh... Wow... You're wearing a dress..." Well, at least he wasn't completely speechless. Though, he was babbling like an idiot again.

Darcy smiled rather bashfully and nodded as she handed over one of the beer bottles to him. "Yeah... Do you like it?"

Stiles noticed the slightly nervous expression in her eyes (that she looked to be desperately hiding) and grinned widely. "Absolutely. Most definitely." He nodded (probably a little too eagerly) -- not that he gave a fuck right now. "You look beautiful. Seriously. Stunning, in fact."

Darcy's smiled widened. "Well, as I've said before;" She began, her gaze slowly raking over his attire. "You brush up real nice, too."

Stiles felt his cheeks flush slightly, his heart racing a little faster than it already was at the mere first sight of her -- which he was still reeling from. Seriously. "I wasn't sure if you were gonna come here tonight." He admitted -- because, well, he wasn't lying when he told Scott that he didn't know what the hell this was between them, or if there even really was something. He didn't really know where he stood with the she wolf. Although, nothing much had changed there.

"I thought this was supposed to be our second date?" Darcy shot him a slightly confused look.

Stiles nodded. "Well, yeah, but... I just, I don't get what this," He motioned between them. "Is."

Darcy smiled slightly, a look of realisation briefly flashing over her face. "I told you; stop over-thinking everything all the damn time."

Stiles frowned. "Yeah. That's what Scott told me, as well..." He mumbled, mostly to himself.

Darcy sighed, stepping closer until she was standing in front of him. "This," She slowly reached out with her free hand to grab his. "It's whatever you want it to be." She frowned, looking slightly nervous again. "I like you, Stiles... I try not to, you're just a kid --"

"No. I'm not." Stiles cut in, shooting her a stern look. "Not anymore." There was just no way in Hell he was going to let her even thin about playing the Age Card. No fucking way in Hell. Ever. "If you like me," He laced his fingers through hers and gripped her hand tightly, not wanting to think about ever having to let go again. "Then what's the real problem for you here?" He asked, glancing intensely at her as he waited as patiently as he possibly could for her to answer.

"It's different with you." Darcy said -- thankful that some slower and less fricking loud music hand suddenly come on, as if on cue. And just when she thought she might go deaf. Seriously, she didn't know how the other wolves could stand it. Even when she used to go out with her own friends, she have never been able to stand the loud music for too long.

Stiles frowned again, looking slightly confused now. "What'd you mean? What's wrong with me?"

Darcy chuckled faintly. "Nothing's wrong with you." And she really did want to tell him about the whole white, glowing aura thing, but -- well, maybe later.

"Then, what?" Stiles asked. He didn't want to push her or anger her and he was trying his best to be patient, above all else. But he was fucking crazy about her, okay!? And he had been for fucking years! Ugh.

"I don't know, I just... I feel safe with you. And I haven't felt that way since my mother died..." Darcy mentally cursed herself as she felt her cheeks quickly heating up. But she was proud of herself for her little outburst, at least. See? She had feelings. She wasn't ALWAYS miserable. And so what, if she was? It wasn't entirely her fault. She had a lot of help along the way. Help that she would rather forget. Forever. That was, if she was lucky enough to form that luxury. Which she highly doubted.

Stiles stared blankly back down at her for a few moments, the corners of his lips then slowly twitching upwards as a look of surprise flashed passed briefly through his expression. He squeezed her hand lightly, causing her averted eyes back up to his before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. And then, he really could help smiling against her lips when she sighed contently against his own. Before getting too carried away, however, he reluctantly and slowly pulled away, grinning down at her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to kill the party mood." Darcy mumbled, now scowling slightly to herself.

Stiles chuckled lightly. "Shut up."

Darcy shot him a briefly surprised look before then shooting him a playful glare.

Stiles merely continued to shoot her that cheesy (adorable) grin of his. "Dance with me, sourwolf?" He asked, staring back at her with an all too hopeful look with those stupid (adorable) wide, whisky, doe orbs of his.

Darcy smirked. "Only if you drink with me, freckles."

To which, Stiles shot her a half-hearted glare. "They are NOT freckles!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yeah," Darcy nodded. "He's an asshole."
> 
> "Yeah," Stiles grinned. "A CREEPY asshole..."

"Hey," Lydia hissed quietly as she held her free hand over her phone to keep the person on the other end of the line from hearing her. "Do we deal with divorce cases?"

"What?" Stiles chuckled, clearly amused.

"No." Darcy shot the redhead a stern look.

Lydia pouted at the Alpha. "But this woman's offering to pay us A LOT of money." She explained, shamelessly hinting.

Darcy glared at the redhead. "No." She repeated.

"But we have a lawyer in our midsts." Lydia argued, now glaring back at the Alpha.

"Hey," Allison piped up, now also shooting the redhead a glare. "Don't get ME involved. I'm a defence lawyer. I only get people off."

To which, Erica snorted loudly in amusement. "Is that what you tell them? That you're gonna get 'em off?" She asked with a wide, teasing grin.

Allison rolled her eyes, though, while fighting the urge to grin in amusement also. And yeah, she DID kind of walked right into that one.

"Lydia," Darcy shot the redhead another stern look. "No."

Lydia scoffed. "Ugh. Fine. Have it YOUR way." She muttered with a roll of her eyes before pulling her phone back up to her ear. "Hello, ma'am? Yes, I'm sorry for the wait. I asked my boss and she says that unfortunately, our business doesn't deal with divorce... Oh, I know, I'm very sorry... Well, thank you. Yes... Okay, maybe you could rethink poisoning your husband, ma'am" Her green orbs widened in horror as she somehow spoke calmly. "And maybe take the time to find someone who can help you... Yes, I know, ma'am. But it's better than ending up in jail over him for the rest of your life -- don't you think?"

Stiles merely shook his head at the redhead, smiling in amusement as he turned back to focus on his paperwork.

"Wow... There are A LOT of fucked up people out there." Boyd commented, looking slightly disturbed now.

Erica scoffed. "Yeah." She nodded in agreement. "And human's think WE are the freaks." She scoffed once more, seeming highly amused by that.

"Anyone heard from Cora and Isaac in the last hour?" Darcy asked, arching an expectant brow towards the others.

"Yep." Scott piped up. "Isaac actually JUST text me. He said they're okay and they'll be back in another hour or so."

Darcy merely nodded in acknowledgement.

"And my dad just text me," Allison chimed in. "Says it all went smoothly. And Khan wants to meet up with you again to finalise any details or rules you both may wanna set beforehand. But hey, we now have our seventh alliance with another pack." She announced with a proud grin.

"Good." Darcy nodded, again, a small, but relieved smile spreading across her lips. "Tell Chris that I owe him one, again."

Allison grinned. "Will do." She nodded before dialling her father's number and sauntering off towards the large kitchenette to grab herself another coffee.

"Ugh. Another infestation of Fungus demons down at South Park Avenue." Erica groaned as she hung up her phone. "And I am NOT going this time! I mean it!" She scowled and then glanced pleading over to her Alpha. "Darcy!" She whined loudly, wearing the best pout she could muster up.

Darcy rolled her eyes, though, she couldn't help smirking slightly in amusement. "Fine."

"Yes!" Erica hissed, now wearing a rather elated expression. "Thank you!"

"Don't look at ME." Boyd held up his hands. "I've still gotta go track down that rogue Hell Hound with Isaac. Just as soon as he gets back, that is..."

Darcy rolled her eyes, again, though, again, she couldn't help smirking in amusement. "Scott," Her orbs settled on her second in command. "Looks like it's your turn."

Scott's eyes widened in horror, like a deer caught in the headlights. "But --"

"No buts." Darcy cut in, her voice calm, almost taunting, though, her expression still rather lighthearted.

Scott simply glared at his so-called Alpha before finally doing as he was told. Like he was going to do anything else, anyway. Ha! No way. He very much liked being able to walk -- thank you.

Darcy smirked smugly as she watched him saunter rather sluggishly towards the elevator. She quickly dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone before putting it on speed dial 6. And thankfully, the line opened on the third ring. "Yeah, hey, Ethan. You two okay down there?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah. Just frigging peachy." Came Ethan's sarcastic and bitter reply. "I've always wanted to spend my Saturday afternoon wading through shit in a vile-smelling sewer, looking for -- who even gives a shit anymore."

"Ethan," Darcy warned lightly, trying hard not to burst out laughing at his angry ranting. "Breathe."

Ethan scoffed loudly, sounding utterly disgusted. "If I breathe any more of this shit in, I'm gonna pass the fuck out!"

"Stop your bitching and gimme the damn phone, idiot."

"Fuck. OFF. Aiden! I've had enough of YOU this afternoon!"

"No, YOU fuck off! Gimme the fucking phone before I tear your fucking arm off! And the pain I feel, too, WILL be worth it!"

"Go suck Peter's dick!"

\-- Because yeah, THAT was a thing now. A pack (minus Peter) thing. A thing they all threw at one another in a temper tantrum, all the time. A thing that Peter knew about, of course. But who even cared about Peter, anyway?

Darcy smirked in amusement to herself as she listened to the twins fight over the phone for a few moments.

"Pff! That's rich, coming from YOU! I'M not the one out of the two of us who enjoys smoking meaty, Hawiian poll!"

Darcy sighed tiredly before finally snapping. "Boys!" She yelled firmly, earning the attention from some of the others.

"Gimme that!"

"You're a fucking jerk."

"Oh, boo-fucking-hoo! Go cry to someone who gives a shit."

And Darcy somehow managed not to laugh at that.

"Darcy," Aiden asked curiously. "You still there?"

"Sadly, yes." Darcy rolled her eyes. "So, I take it you two haven't found the Glovmik demon?" And seriously, why was she even asking? She should have just hung up already. Ugh.

"Not YET. But we will." Aiden replied, sounding as confident in himself as ever.

"Okay. Well, try not to kill one another -- at least until you've killed the demon, anyway. And make sure you keep me updated, every hour." Darcy told him. "Oh, and for crying out loud; please, JUST text me." She added before finally hanging altogether...

...Darcy should have known that when everyone had finally started to drift out of the loft and back to their homes in the evening. She should have known that there would be one man left standing. The same man as always. And that was okay. In fact, it was more than that. Well, to her, anyway.

Stiles shoved the last of his paperwork into his large rucksack, zipping it back up and dumping it on the floor beside his feet. "God, that took forever." He mumbled tiredly as he slumped back into the couch.

"What were you doing?" Darcy asked, eyeing him curiously as she sauntered slowly over and sat down beside him.

"Just the rest of my college work." Stiles explained simply. "I kinda forgot all about it, 'cause I've been spending the last two weeks researching up on anything that could help my dad."

Darcy nodded, wearing a soft frown. "How is he?" She asked, eyeing the human carefully.

Stiles let out another tired sigh. "He's exactly how I thought he'd be -- still being his usual sarcastic self." He smiled faintly at that. "But I know he's scared, underneath."

Darcy nodded in acknowledgement. "And how're you?"

Stiles huffed out a light chuckle. "To be perfectly honest," He glanced over at the she wolf. "I think I'M more terrified than HE is, right now."

Darcy noticed the dull depressed look in his usually light, whisky orbs and it made her chest clench painfully on the inside. "He'll be fine." She assured automatically, not really knowing what the hell else to do.

"And what if he's not?" Stiles asked, both sounding and looking utterly miserable now.

And damn. Darcy knew that question would follow. And still, she didn't really know what the hell to say or do. Which was kind of ironic, she thought -- what with a lifetime of her experiencing situations like this, or even fricking worse. Ugh. Fuck.

"I already lost my mom..." Stiles mumbled, quickly averting his eyes to his lap as he felt them brimming with heavy tears. "I can't lose him, too..."

Darcy stared miserably at him for a few moments, feeling lost and helpless. Both of which she fucking hated feeling! And then, finally, she sprung into action, not allowing herself to think, just do. She shifted across the couch, reaching out, placing a hand on the back of his neck and the other around the back of his shoulder before pulling him forward for a tight embrace.

Stiles inhaled sharply, clearly surprised by the sourwolf's sudden show of affection. After a second, he relaxed against her entirely, slowly bringing his own arms up, wrapping them tightly around her waist. They sat in miserable (yet, comfortable) silence for a few moments, simply just hugging one another closely. And even if in the back of his mind, he knew that she was only trying to comfort him, he really couldn't have cared less. She was here. And that was all that mattered to him right now.

Darcy simply held him tightly, ignoring the selfish giddy feeling she felt just by being so close to him. This wasn't about her. Stiles needed her right now. And she was okay with that, she understood that. And sadly, all too well.

After a few more moments, Stiles finally mumbled out a small "thank you" against her shoulder, from where his head had been buried. He then reluctantly, slowly pulled away from her, though, only slightly. His arms were back by his sides, but she was still so unbearably fricking close.

"You don't have to thank me." Darcy mumbled back, where a light scowl. "I'm always here for you, Stiles. No matter what." She added, even shooting him a small, but reassuring smile.

And obviously, Stiles really couldn't help smiling brightly back at her. Even if he knew she would have probably said that to any of the others in her pack. But again, not like he really cared right now. "Um, thanks." He chuckled lightly when she scowled at him again. "Right, sorry -- no, thanks?" He grinned in amusement when she then shot him a playful glare.

"So, are you ever gonna tell Scott?" Darcy asked, shooting him a more curious look now.

Stiles sighed and shrugged lazily. "Maybe. And only if my dad says it's okay. 'Cause there is NO frigging way that I can tell Scott and hope that he can act normal around him. OR blab to Melissa about it. Dad wants to tell her himself."

Darcy nodded in acknowledgement. And really? Was she really going to go there? "Stiles," Maybe. Okay, yes, she was going to go there. But it was only a mere suggestion on her part. And she was even expecting the rejection of her... Offer.

Stiles frowned slightly, noticing the troubled look in her pretty, greeny-blue orbs. "What's wrong?" He asked, sounding slightly concerned, too. God, he really didn't think he could handle any more bad news right now.

"No, nothing's wrong." Darcy quickly assured him.

Stiles nodded, now shooting her a slightly confused look. "Okay..."

Darcy sighed before just saying what she wanted to say already. No point in beating around the bush, after all. "IF it gets too bad, with your dad, I mean... I could... I could turn him... If you wanted me to, that is. And also, obviously, if he agrees." She left it at that, now eyeing him carefully for his reaction.

Stiles arched a brow, looking slightly surprised. "You would do that?"

Darcy frowned slightly in confusion now, a little surprised by his first response. She was expecting more... Anger. "If you asked me to, yeah." She replied simply with a nod.

"Well, I dunno about THAT." Stiles smiled, feeling slightly touched.

"It's okay." Darcy nodded, shooting him an understanding look. "It was just a suggestion; a last resort, really."

Stiles nodded in return to show her that he also understood and that he wasn't angry or upset. Surprised, though. "I guess I could bring it up lightly to him. Y'know, when he's had a little more time to process things."

"I could explain it to him, if you needed me to." Darcy said. "And obviously, he'd be under my protection. He'd be my Beta; part of my pack, along with you and the others... Well, minus Peter." She added that last part with a look of disgust.

Stiles chuckled lightly at that, while trying to ignore how totally adorable that expression was on her, especially when she wrinkled her nose like that. Ugh. God, help him. Or someone. Any-fricking-one! "Yeah," He nodded in agreement. "Peter's our little, Omega, bitch-monkey."

To which, predictably, Darcy smirked in amusement. "I'm telling him you said that."

"Please," Stiles scoffed loudly, clearly not intimidated at all. "I'm not scared of the creeperwolf. Just creeped out." He added that last part with another cheeky grin.

"Yeah, he tends to give off the creepy vibe." Darcy's smirk widened. "Only HE thinks it's charm."

To which, again, Stiles scoffed loudly, only this time, he looked highly amused. "I know that us guys are a little deluded sometimes, but your uncle is definitely something else."

"Yeah," Darcy nodded. "He's an asshole."

"Yeah," Stiles grinned. "A CREEPY asshole..."

...Peter growled out in anger as he glared back at the other Beta with his flaming blue orbs lit up in fury. "I am NOT an asshole!"

Scott scoffed loudly, rolling his calm, though, still slightly annoyed, dark chocolate-brow orbs. "And I'M not a werewolf." He stated, his tone laced thickly with drawl sarcasm.

Peter's jaw tightened, his burning orbs narrowing into angry slits. "Where is she?" He repeated, his tone a little calmer, though, still incredibly low.

"Oh, my God! How many fucking times, dude!?" Scott snapped, now glaring angrily back at him. "She doesn't want to see you! Like, ever!"

"I don't care!" Peter snapped back. "I have to see HER! I NEED to!" He yelled, though, now sounding almost desperate.

Lydia sighed tiredly as Scott rolled his eyes in annoyance before turning his back on the angry Beta. "Peter," Lydia glanced over at him. "You just need to give her time. She's been through a lot already." She said, her voice calm and her expression soft; somehow understanding.

Peter's eyes burned out to resume their usual bright blue brilliance, though, there was a dull twinkle lingering in them. "Just tell me;" He mumbled miserably, sounding utterly defeated. "Does she hate me?"

And then, even Scott felt bad for the guy. He sighed lightly in defeat as he turned back to face the other Beta. "Dude, Malia doesn't hate you."

Lydia nodded in agreement.

Peter simply scoffed, clearly not believing either of them.

"She doesn't hate you." Scott repeated, shooting him a slightly more reassuring and pointed look. "She doesn't even know you."

"Yeah. You're right..." Peter nodded, sighing tiredly. "And maybe I should just keep it that way."


End file.
